Beyond Good and Evil
by littlegeekpenguin
Summary: Before they were heroes or villains, saviors or betrayers, they were only the padawans Revan and Malak. Occurs during the years leading up to the Mandalorian war. Primarily young Revan centric. Some RevanxMalak, and cameos from various KOTOR characters.
1. In the beginning

_AN: My very first attempt at a fanfiction, please feel free to leave constructive criticism and advice. I have only played the games; I have not read any of the cannon material that goes along with the KOTOR timeline. If any characters seem OOC or events out of order based on that material, simply consider this a quasi-AU._

_What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil._

**-Friedrich Nietzsche**, _Beyond Good and Evil, Aphorism 153_

_Someone's been slacking, _she mused to herself. That small black spot was certainly not part of the tile design. She could hardly really blame the mystery person for over looking it, you really had to be close to notice. If she were only a few more inches away it probably would look like it was intended to be there, and, after all, very few people besides her got this close a view of the Temple floor. _But still, _she argued to herself, _it's the principle of the thing._ In her book, if you were going to do something, you'd better damn well do it right.

Hooking her thumb into the sleeve of her robe, the fifteen year old dragged her left hand across the floor towards her face; by shifting her head slightly to the right she could almost reach the offending mark without too much visible effort. Almost…

"Revan, are you paying attention?"

_Frack. So close. _

Raising her head to meet her new Master's accusing gaze, Revan attempted an innocent smile from her bowed position on the floor.

"Of course, Master Zhar. And you're right, what I did was horrible, and I deserve whatever punishment you give me."

That line usually worked. She'd been a bit put out at how unimpressed he'd been by her entire subservient position. Once you reached the rank of Padawan you were no longer required to kneel, forehead touching the floor, after all. But, Zhar being Zhar, hadn't even seemed to notice how much _sincerity_ that gesture was supposed to imply. Agreeing with them though, that usually worked.

"And what is it, Padawan Revan, which you did to deserve this?"

That made her smile freeze in place. _Maybe I should have been listening. _Whether or not she had done something to deserve being yelled at really wasn't the question, what she had been _caught _doing was the problem. Confessing to a crime other than what a Master wanted to yell at you for was never ended well.

_They couldn't possibly know about the robes, could they? No, no. And Ga'el would be here too if they knew about what happened last week…unless they want us to confess separately… if she told I'm going to hit her so hard…No, I saw her today, it couldn't be that. So it would have to be…_Resorting to her old stand by, Revan bowed her end in attempted shame.

"I allowed Padawan Malak to goad me into behavior unbecoming a Jedi, Master."

Behavior unbecoming a Jedi was a bit of a catch all. She couldn't be sure which scuffle between her and Malak they'd caught, so it was best to leave it vague and hope the innate tendency of all Masters to lecture would fill in the blanks for her.

Zhar sighed. Revan held her breath. _C'mon, C'mon you know you want to…_

"That is correct, young Revan. A verbal sparring match of such a crass nature is most unbecoming of a future Jedi, especially one of your enormous potential. Pride, my Padawan, is one of the first steps away from the path of light…"

_Yes!_

She could have cheered as the urge to ramble on about the force, temptation, and the path to evil overcame the kind hearted Master. Of the many Masters in the Temple on Coruscant, Zhar was pretty close to the top of her list of favorites. The fact he'd rescued her from her previous Master, Vrook, long before most Padawans were allowed to change Masters certainly didn't hurt his standing either. Even so, as a rule she avoided having to actually pay attention to a lecture on her behavior, regardless of the source. It was just so much easier when they stuck to the core points, reiterating again and again the lecture she had heard a thousand times in her near dozen years as a member of the Temple.

Still, if she had to be honest, she did love how he always included a bit about how very special she was in each and every one of his little talks. It almost made up for the fact her kneeling had so little reception.

_Now, back to that spot…_

* * *

If she were anyone else, the apple probably would have hit her square in the back of the head. Being in touch with the force, however, had its advantages.

Spinning effortlessly on one foot, Revan sidestepped the projectile, catching it with her right hand even as she placed the left over her heart and dipped her head in a small bow. She met the laughter and clapping that followed with her usual grin, tossing the apple back to Ga'el as she and two male Padawans caught up.

"So," Ga'el asked after her first bit into the fruit "How much trouble are you in today?" Though her tone was purposely unimpressed, Revan could see the spark of amusement in her cohort's eyes.

"Same amount as she is every day, of course." The twi'lek male, Avri, replied, grinning up at Revan. Or, down at, technically. It was true great things came in small packages, but was barely hitting five feet really necessary?

"It's true," Revan sighed "Mine is a misunderstood genius. And as all such creatures are, I am to be punished for my brilliance." _By scrubbing that floor I was so enamored with for the next month. Why do they always think cleaning is the quickest way to get rid of pride? _The thoughts remained unvoiced, however. The others would see her humiliation soon enough, there was no reason to hand them the ammo now.

"Maybe if you could control you mouth for five seconds around Malak, you wouldn't be so _misunderstood_." Ga'el replied dryly, rolling her eyes at her friend's melodramatic antics.

"Listen, I never did anything to that Sith spawn that he didn't come looking for."

"Ah, yes, I'm sure Malak went looking for his robes being stolen, I bet he positively begged to have his door bolted shut so he missed half-a-day of classes. Really, you'd think someone with any sense in them would stop asking to be so humiliated."

Reven leveled an unimpressed stare at her second-in-command. "Really, El, I'm starting to wonder whose side you're on. So I guess I'm the one who let a pair, a _breeding pair_ mind you, of gizka runs wild in our room, right?"

In typical Ga'el fashion, however, the gaze had little effect. "I'm just saying Revan, if you didn't play, neither would he. You could be a Knight by now if you spent half as much energy on training as you did on tormenting Malak."

Revan stared at the girl in shocked silence for a moment, attempting to process the concept of refusing a competition. "Of course I'm going to play, El. If you don't play, how can you win?" _Isn't winning the point?_

"You're wasting your breath, you know." Avri cut in even as Ga'el opened her mouth to retort. "The Jedi have the Sith and Revan has Malak. There are just opposing forces in the Galaxy, El, lecturing them on getting along won't change anything."

Revan nearly beamed at the Twi'lek, causing the males blue skin to move closer to a shade of purple. The male was a new addition to Revan's little gang, and still suffered from the lack of socialization that most Padawans were forced to endure. Newly arrived from the temple on Datooine, he had been selected as Vrooks replacement Padawan after the _incident_ that ended her time under him. Though a few years younger than the average member, Revan had made a special exception for him, and so far it seemed to paying off.

_After all, no one should have to suffer through Vrook alone._

Revan shuddered a little at the thought, her vivid imagination providing a nightmarish image of what kind of antisocial monster would be created by that. It was enough to turn your stomach.

"You…alright there, Rev?" Being accustomed to Revan's wandering thoughts, Ga'el was only amused, though Avri was starting to look a bit concerned.

Revan shook her head, turning back to El when the second male, a human named Lae Thul, finally broke his silence with a single monotone word:

"Trouble."

Turning to follow the stoic boys gaze Revan couldn't stop the smirk from forming on her face.

_Speak of the devil and he shall appear._

Pointedly ignored Ga'els quiet sigh, Revan gave a small mocking bow to the slightly older male approaching the group, two cronies of his own flanking him.

"Malak."


	2. The Punishment

_Revan had many masters, Zhar, Dorak, Master Kae before Kae left for the Wars.- Mical in KOTOR II  
_

If she sat like this much longer, she was pretty sure her spine was going to snap. Digging her finger nails deeper into her knees, she attempted to ignore the source of her ever more tense back.

_There is no emotion, there is peace._

It wasn't that she was angry. Of course not. Jedi didn't get angry. They didn't even get annoyed, not if they were real Jedi. Which she was. Unlike certain bald, egomaniacal, self-righteous persons she could mention. Which she wouldn't. Because she was a Jedi. And Jedi don't mention that kind of thing.

_There is no passion, there is serenity._

She was only…frustrated. That was the word, frustrated. Jedi could be frustrated all they pleased; she was an expert in inspiring that particular emotion in Masters, after all. If the council could become frustrated, than certainly a Padawan, especially a particularly gifted Padawan, could feel the same. Right? Right.

_There is no chaos, there is harmony._

Though, it would be a lot easier to find that inner peace and harmony if her eye would stop throbbing. The swelling hadn't faded in the past hour since she had been ordered to wait while the Masters 'discussed this latest transgression.' She couldn't see why Master Zhar couldn't have at least healed it before the Council shut themselves away. It wasn't as if she had meant to get into a fight with Malak. Only minutes after being punished for her last exchange with him. Merely feet away from the same Chamber doors she now kneeled before. With her Master just exiting said chamber.

_Okay, so really not one of my prouder moments. But still…it's not like I started it. Once again, it's all because of that loud mouth, no good…_

"Just because you're ignoring me doesn't mean I'm not here."

_There is no emotion there is no emotion there is no emotion_

"Still here."

Blue eyes flew open as she spun her head to look at him. If Jedi hadn't traded in the ability to kill with a look for inner peace or some other, in her opinion at that precise moment, useless bullshit, the anteroom to the Council Chamber would have very quickly been redecorated in a charming new coat of Malak's blood. However, seeing how that rather short sighted bargain had been made eons ago, the boy kneeling four feet from her right kept his vital bodily fluids. Not only did he have the gall to not become a sticky splatter on the wall, he in fact had the audacity to smirk at her.

_There is peace, there is fracking serenity._

Releasing a long breath through her nose, Revan managed to compose her face into something resembling a, admittedly quite feral, smile in return.

"Why yes." She bit out. "So you are. Would you like some kind of parade organized, or is ruining my meditation enough of a reward for you?"

He snorted, _actually snorted_, as a response and returned his gaze to the closed chamber doors before them.

"Day dreaming about blood shed is hardly meditation. Well, unless you're _that _kind of force user."

"Well, you certainly are the expert on that, aren't you?" _Sith spawn._ The unspoken words hung in the air between them, the sudden stiffening of the boy's spine showing her the words had hit home.

She turned her eyes to the stone doors before them as well, a contemptuous chuckle escaping her throat. _Too easy._

"At least I can remember her." The words were spoken so quietly she wasn't sure she'd heard them right at first. She turned slowly to face him again, the meaning of the barb sinking in.

"What did you just say to me?"

"You heard me. Was the meaning somehow unclear to you, Revan?" The gloating had settled into his voice now, nestling in the calm, cold tone the words purred out with.

She could barely see the doors before her now. _How dare he. How DARE he. Peace. Serenity. HARMONY._

The tightness in her back had spread, migrating towards the front of her chest until the vice settled firmly around her heart, a sudden chill gripping her lungs.

_This is anger. This is pure, unadulterated anger. This is…_

The smiles on her face tightened, twisting her smile into a barely contained snarl. Maintaining her focus on the door, she replied "I would rather have nothing, than be stained with the memories of having known a Sith."

She felt the ripples of his returned anger through the force more loudly than she heard his growl. Wordlessly they turned to meet each others gaze once more. Her breath slowed, becoming slightly ragged as their wide-eyed contact continued.

_This is…This is…powerful._

_**Yes. It is.**_

"Get out of my head." She had meant the words to be accusatory, but she could hardly recognize the hollow whisper that met her ears.

_What is going on?_

_**I don't know.**_

"Stop projecting into mine." Slamming his eyes shut, Malak was the first to break the connection. The moment over, Revan shook her head, slipping once more into the familiar feeling of frustration she was accustomed to experiencing around the other teen.

"Listen, I'd rather bathe a Hutt than have to know even one nanosecond of what it is you pass off as thoughts, alright?! So stay the frack out of my mind, got it?"

"I told you, I didn't! What part of that sentence is too hard for you?"

"You're right. I'm giving you too much credit. It's much more likely I accidentally pick dup your thoughts than you ever, _ever,_ being able to penetrate mine." She was smirking again, the bone-chilling feeling from only moments before nearly forgotten.

The same gleam flashed in Malak's eyes, the old familiar twisting of his upper lip appeared as he prepared to reply.

Both of them snapped their attention forward as the chamber doors pushed open, a short stream of robbed Masters flowing out. In synchronization they would have both denied if ever made aware of, the two Padawans returned to meditative poses, serene expressions touching both their faces, before the first Master had taken a single step into the antechamber.

A deep sigh echoed from in the Council Chamber, making Revan wince at the level of disappointment contained in that one soft sound.

"Enter."

Without so much as a sideways glance at one another, the two Padawans rose and walked slowly into the room. For a split second, Revan could sense Malak's confusion match her own as they took in the room. Only Master Zhar stood in the center of the Council Chamber, the empty chairs standing in silent witness to his appraisal of the Padawans before him.

"No kneeling this time, Revan?" The humorless tone forced her to flinch. Shaking her head, the girl turned her gaze once more to the floor at her feet.

"No, Master." _Oh, force. The guilt. Less then a week, and already he's getting tired of me. _She bit her lip, folding her arms firmly across her chest. _Please don't pass me off already. _

The Twi'lek sighed again, shaking his head slowly. "The council has become rather divided concerning the two of you. There is at least one Master who believes that the Temple, indeed the Jedi path, may not be the best place for either of you."

Revan's blood ran cold at that. _No._

"As your Master Revan, I have the final say in this matter. You will remain where you are, though I can only hope you will meditate upon the path you have followed up to this point, and what alteration may be wise to make to it."

Relief pounded through her veins, and she very nearly could have kneeled in gratitude before her Master. However, for once acknowledging that any such over the top displays may not help her cause, Revan only bowed.

"Thank you, Master. I will not disappoint you."

"I know, Revan."

The slight shifting sound to her side reminded her they were not alone. Suddenly, the emptiness occupying the space where Malak's Master should have stood seemed a near solid thing. _They can't be serious. A few…dozen…hundred squabbles and he's out?_

"And as for me, Master Zhar?" He was a decent actor. Were it not for his clenched fists, the too high chin, Revan never would have known he was only a word away from being banished. For half a second, she almost admired him.

And then Zhar had to reply.

"It has been decided you will be joining Revan as my Padawan."


	3. Interlude

"Stop thinking so loudly."

Ga'el sat peacefully cross-legged in the center of the room she shared with Revan. The datapads that had only moments before been floating lazily through they air now lay in an accusatory heap on the tile floor.

Revan heaved a sigh from her sprawled position in Ga'el's bunk. Shoving herself up onto one elbow, the dark haired girl ground new wrinkles into the previously perfect covers.

"I am thinking at the same level I always do. If it bothers you, go practice your tricks somewhere else."

Ga'el cracked her eyes open at the comment, causing Revan to flop back onto the bed and suppressed a second sigh. Her friend could get into a lecturing mood that would make Vrook himself jealous.

"These are not _tricks_, Revan. I am learning to channel the force, a practice you would do well to pick up."

She meant well. Revan knew she did, and she supposed if she were any other Padawan she'd be crossing her legs into all kinds of crazy positions and chanting along as well. But, well, she simple wasn't. The force to Revan like water to everyone else. Yes, it's around you and part of you, you couldn't very well live without it, and, if applied improperly, could cause a lot of unfortunate side effects, but there simply wasn't any reason to be carrying on about it all the fracking time. You didn't see normal people wandering around, spouting the virtues of the great, life giving liquid, or terrifying their children with tales of how trying to breathe it would lead to destruction. It was just there, and the rest of it was common sense.

Unfortunately, the rest of the Temple just didn't get it like she did. And so, day in and day out, week after month after year, she was lectured on the force.

With a flick of the wrist the top datapad flipped through the air and into her waiting hand. She waved it at the blonde lazily, "Channel force. Check. If you're done lecturing for the day, can I get back to wallowing in self-pity over my wretched fate? You know, what I was doing quite happily, all afternoon, before you barged in and started trying to be all peaceful?"

It was Ga'el's turn to sigh. Abandoning the doomed attempt at meditation, she gracefully unfurled from her position, snatching the pad from Revan's hand as she rose.

"Sharing a Master with Malak is not the end of the galaxy."

"It's pretty close though."

"Revan, you're being childish."

"Says you! You don't have to train with him. And travel with him. And generally spend time with him….the nightmare goes on and on." Revan curled onto her side, wrapping an arm around her folded legs. So what if she was being childish. Sometimes you're allowed to pout, especially when something so tragically _unfair_ happened to you. Ga'el was just too…too Jedi to understand.

_Too Jedi? Ugh, I am being a child._

"Fine. Maybe I'm being a little…little…"

"Melodramatic? Infantile? Ridiculous?"

"Okay, okay, I get it. Force, show a little mercy, El."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Revan fiddling with the edge of the blanket in her free hand, Ga'el calmly attempting to tame the raging chaos of Revan's bunk on the other side of the room. Her flairs of rage and stretches of brooding silence were far too common an event for Ga'el to not know how to handle it.

Revan bit the inside of her check, trying to ignore the itching sensation on the back of her neck that always seemed to appear whenever Ga'el was concerned about something. _Just think of something else, don't sense it, don't pick up. Think of the wall. Be the wall. Aaaah._

"I thought they were going to kick him out."

_Frack, frack, frack. Why does it work every time. Every. Fracking. Time. _

"Hmm?"

"Malak. When we first went into the Chamber, I thought they had decided to kick him out of the Temple."

"And what did you think of that?"

_It was awful._

"Like I care."

"Hmmm."

"Shut up."

"Of course."

The silence prevailed again, the quiet shifting of blankets as Ga'el smoothed the bunk the only disruption.

_This is ridiculous._

Flipping over, Revan threw her legs over the edge of the bunk. A few seconds later she was at the door, robe in place and training blade in hand. Ga'el gave a despairing glance at her ruffled bunk, to which Revan could only offer a careless shrug.

"Look at the bright side, at least I won't be thinking in here anymore."

The brisk swish of the room doors sliding shut behind her was the only answer she paused long enough to hear.


	4. The Duel

"_The darkness and the light wage a constant war within you. The balance is tipped one way now, but it can easily be tipped back._" ―Darth Malak KOTOR I

The pale girls' slight chest rose and fell rapidly and she twirled around the training mat. She mentally cursed the long strands of ebony hair that had long since slipped out of the high braid trailing down her back, plastering themselves against her forehead and drooping into bright blue eyes.

The opponents briefly broke apart, circling each other warily along the very edges of the dueling circle. She slowly spun the twin wooden blades in agitation, glancing from her opponent's single blade, to his face, and back to the blade again. In her brief weapons training under Master Kavar, the warrior had instructed her to watch only her enemy's face; the movement of his blade would always be reflected there. That was, of course, a lot easier said than done.

The bald teen charged forward, his blade swinging fiercely down from above his shoulder, down across his body to hit solidly against the smaller opponents rib cage, sending the slender girl flying to the left.

Gasping in pain, Revan landed on her shoulder, tucking in her head to execute a roll which kept her barely within the dueling circle's limits. Abandoning one of the blades, she threw her arm out in front of her, planting her hand solidly on the ground, and sending her legs over her head in a rapid flip. Malak's second thrust slammed into the ground behind her, sending her second training blade skittering across the mat to rest on the opposite edge from the panting girl.

A small cheer erupted from the gathered Apprentices and Padawans as she clutched at her bruised ribs from her guarded crouch in the center of the mat. She brought up her remaining blade before her face, offering a blood smattered sneer to her opponent, an expression quickly answered with a vicious grin from the uninjured male.

"Ready to give up, Revan?"

"What, just when I'm starting to win?"

"I'm afraid that last hit to your head has left you confused. The point of sword play is to hurt your opponent. No points for hitting their blade with your body." He moved to the side, letting lose a kick that sent her abandoned blade soaring out of the circle, narrowly missing the head of a specter before clattering noisily against the wall of the training room.

Her sneer twisted into a triumphant smirk "That's right, Malak, be afraid!" Before the words were fully out of her mouth she sprung into action, launching herself from the crouch clear across the mat. Twisting in mid air, she tucked her legs against her chest, kicking them out fiercely as she reached her target. A rush of air left Malak's lungs as her feet connected solidly with his chest, sending him staggering backwards. Rolling across the floor to a kneeling position, Revan struck before he had time to reclaim his footing, smashing the point of her blade into his kneecap and sending the older Padawan down onto one knee.

In the same swift motion the dark haired girl sprung into the air once more, turning to deliver another kick into the boys now lowered chest. She lost visual contact for only a split second, just long enough to give Malak his chance. A strong hand snapped out, grasping the ankle only inches away from his face. Dropping his knee to the floor, he twisted his upped body, redirecting Revan's momentum to his left, swinging the slight girl behind him and sending her clear out of the circle.

Revan crashed painfully into the solid wall of spectators around the match, sending two of them to the ground with the force of her decent. The crowd burst into applause as the long match finally came to an end, several of the Padawans of Malak's age rushing over to congratulate their friend. Revan shoved herself off the ground, practically growling as she wiped the sweat away from her face, pausing momentarily to gingerly touch the bruise now forming on her sharp check bone.

"Face it Revan," Malak mocked from the center of his gloating companions, "I'm just better than you."

She swayed a little as she climbed back to her feet, straightening with a repressed groan to face him fully. "You? That's a laugh."

"You really are slow, aren't you? I beat you Revan. I. Beat. You. I'm standing here, and you're bleeding over there. You, are _second rate_."

A half laugh ended in her spitting some of the excess blood collecting in her mouth on to the floor. "Say that again."

"Are you kidding me?" That expression she couldn't stand had stolen over his face. The part confused, part annoyed, and part pure superiority expression that she had seen far too often in her short life. "Do you really want me to humiliate you like this, Revan? I mean, I'm more than happy to oblige, but still, it's hardly normal."

"I said: say that again." Her grip on the training blade tightened as she stared intently at him. The small crowd that had remained started shifting uncomfortably, glancing at each other in uneasy confusion at the unexpected reaction losing had caused in the famously talented Padawan.

"If you insist. You, Nymada Revan, are: Second. Rate." The grin that crossed his face as he purred out the last two words was rapidly replaced with an expression of pure shock bordering on horror as his feet left the ground.

A collective gasp swept through the remaining Padawans, and one of the Apprentices fled from the room as Revan raised her free hand, levitating the heavy male several feet above the ground. Tilting her head gently to the side, it was Revan's turn to grin. She began stalking forward slowly, the Padawans between her and Malak parting rapidly as she approached the hovering teen.

"No, Malak. No. Maybe I'm not quite as good as you in duels, not yet. Not yet. But I," she threw her arm upwards, forcing the frowning boy to float several feet higher, "I am _not_ second rate. Not to the likes of you."

"You're out of control, Revan," he whispered from his elevated state.

"Oh, come _on_ Malak. Like you weren't the same way, ten seconds ago. Throwing me out of the ring, finally beating me at _something_. Like you weren't just as content then, as I am now."

He looked down at her at that, making eye contact for the first time since his forced levitation.

_You did like it, didn't you?_

Another one of those moments passed; the same as in the anteroom to the Council Chamber. No anger clouded this moment however, not raging emotion made the feeling confusing or unclear. The rumbling of the other Padawans faded into nothingness, their discomfort and distress at the dangerous turn the duel had taken went on unnoticed by either one. A perfect moment of understanding flowed between them.

_**Yes.**_

The moment ended swiftly as Revan started when the training room doors crashed open, sending Malak tumbling over half a dozen feet to the ground, his Jedi training alone allowing him to land gracefully on both feet. She thought she may have caught a wince as he landed on the knee she had attacked, but the forced calm words of the Master prevented her from paying full attention.

"Padawan Revan, Padawan Malak. You will meet me in the Council Chambers _immediately._"

The apprentice that had fled only second before stood worriedly behind Master Zhar, gazing at the agitated Master's billowing robes as he stalked back out of the facility. The remaining spectators quickly dispersed, each knowing better than to linger at the scene of one of Revan and Malak's discovered crimes.

Revan cast a quick glance at Malak, and brought the corner of her brown robe self-consciously up to her face, dabbing at the leak of blood oozing slowly from her nose.

He sighed softly and expressed her exact sentiments. "Not again."


	5. Of Feet and Philosophy

"_One quickly learns that the Jedi code does not give all the answers._"

―Kreia in KOTOR II

For the second time that day, Revan mentally cursed the fact she wasn't far enough along in her studies of the force to heal the dull throb that pulsed from the ankle Malak had swung her by. The rest of the various injuries she could muster enough willpower to ignore during the tense walk to the Council Chamber, the limp the swollen ankle forced her to adopt, however, gnawed at her pride. The slight smirk Malak couldn't quite hide wasn't exactly helping the situation, either.

Her mood only worsened when they reached the foot of the stairs leading to the Chamber's anteroom. Malak's face twitched for a second, then broke into a full grin at the sight of Revan glaring at the stairs as a Dark Lord of the Sith had manifested before her. She placed her foot on the first stair, and warily attempted to shift her full weight onto the ankle. She muttered an unlady-like curse at the spike of pain that raced up her leg in reply. There was no way she was going to make it up on her own.

"Anything you'd like to ask for, Revan?" The laughter the other Padawan was biting back still laced his words, grating on her already agitated nerves.

"I can't imagine a single thing I'd ask from _you_, Malak." There had to be a way up the stairs. It wasn't like there were that many any way, just a couple...dozen. It was nothing that a Jedi couldn't handle, if they really put their mind to it.

_This is just another test. A Jedi can over come any obstacle with dignity, grace, and honor. Just think, think._

"I don't know, Revan. I can think of a thing or two. Sword fighting tips, for instance. Or, considering the situation, help, perhaps?" His grin was threatening to split his face clean in half. She narrowed her eyes, all thoughts of brilliant plans involving pulleys, ramps, or some kind of hovercraft fled her mind at his blatant amusement at her expense. Lifting her injured foot into the air, Revan concentrated on the near-superhuman balance that her years of training had wrought, and took her first one legged hop onto the stairs before her.

The bald teen broke into full laughter at the newest development, the tension present only a minute before during the slow walk from the training room melting away at the girls stubborn display. He took position directly behind her, staying two steps behind the hopping raven haired Padawan.

To her credit, she made it up almost half the flight before the laws of nature and equilibrium finally got the best of her. Glancing behind her, only for a moment, to frown at the trailing Malak caused her to lose her balance at last, tumbling backwards into the waiting boy. She suppressed a groan as her bruised ribs landed against the unforgiving wall of his muscled chest. Quickly, one trunk like arm came to wrap around her waist to keep her from bouncing off and continuing her decent.

She regained her footing, tenderly placing the aching foot on the ground once more. She whipped her head up to face the grinning boy, only to be struck by just how much taller the other teen really was. She had known Malak since he had arrived at the Temple as a newly made Padawan when she was ten, and right from the start his superior height had set apart from practically every other Padawan in the Order. This was the only time she could recall standing so close to her self-proclaimed rival, however, and she was shocked to realize that even though she stood a step above him, his throat was still nearly above her eye level. Her attempts to glare at him fell rather short as his Adams apple was the only part of him able to meet her gaze.

The apple bobbed briefly as he spoke a highly amused, "You're welcome."

"Let go of me." She punctured the statement by attempting to twist out of his grasp, only to find his right arm had a vice-like grip around her waist. She snapped her head to the side to better view the cause of her immobilization, causing her braid to slam ineffectually against his upper arm.

"You see, Revan, I've noticed a rather disturbing pattern," he started conversationally, "You do something stupid and, for some reason, I get dragged into it and end up in trouble because of you." She twisted move violently in his arms, then released a small yelp as he leaned back slightly, picking the wide-eyes girl clean up off the ground. Tucking the struggling form under his arm as if she were nothing more than a bundle of dirty laundry, Malak began his steady ascent up the stairs. Ignoring her rapid protests, he continued speaking as if nothing about the situation were odd in the least.

"So, I've started wondering how that situation started. Why is it every time you open your mouth, I feel the need to close it. Why every time I do something, you have to try and do it better, and, most importantly, why does us interacting always end with the two of us bowing before the Council, begging for forgiveness." He paused his speech for a moment, though she would be damned if she would dignify this situation with an honest answer.

Apparently giving up on waiting, he forged on. "I never come before the Council for anything else, you know. The only time I'm ever in trouble it's because of something I did with you." He paused to shift her slight weight, gaining a better grasp as she stopped struggling and turned her head to regard him with skeptical blue eyes. She couldn't help but question him on that one.

"Never?"

"Not once."

"Well, why not?" He paused in mid-step, staring down at her in confusion.

"What?"

"I said why not? Why don't you ever get into trouble without me?" She looked at the boy expectantly, as if why a Padawan would avoid disobeying the Council were the most puzzling question in the galaxy.

"You are seriously asking why I, a Padwan of the Jedi Order, would wish to avoid getting in trouble with the Council of Masters." She nodded from her horizontal position and he shook his head, resuming the climb towards the Chamber. "You really are as insane as everyone says."

"I am not. I am not crazy, or insane, or out of control. I just happen to be one of the only Padawns on this rock who actually wants to understand the Code, instead of just following it like a bunch of mindless gizka."

They had finally reached the summit of the stairs, and the girl was at last returned to an upright position on the ground. Malak took the step back needed to be able to look down far enough to establish actual eye contact with her.

"Alright," he replied skeptically, "I'll bite, how is getting in trouble with the Council part of gaining a better understanding of the Code?"

She rolled her eyes at him, straightening her disheveled robes as best she could as she answered.

"Have you ever really thought about the Code? I mean, sure, you know it and have, undoubtedly, spent what seems like half your life just meditating on its nuances, but have you ever really _thought_ about it?"

She straightened, pressing her palms before her in a traditional praying pose; she closed her eyes and recited the code:

"There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

There is no death, there is the Force."

She opened her eyes and looked at him expectantly, as if that simple recitation explained everything. He gave her a wary look, and she was sure he was debating whether or not she was mocking him.

"So?"

She started her reply with a dramatic sigh, her weary voice perfectly matching the tone of a Master dealing with a particularly dense youngling.

"_Ignorance_, Malak,_ ignorance_. It's right there in the code. What is ignorance but the absence of _knowing?_" She waved her hands in the air as she spoke, her eyes brightening with excitement.

"And how do we know things? By swallowing whatever the Master's choose to feed us? By unquestioningly following wherever we are pointed to go? No, that is a path of blindness, that makes us no different from the Sith. The only way to know something, _really know it_, is to experience it for yourself. Following every single thing the Masters say without question, without even thinking about it yourself, isn't knowledge. It's just…just a different kind of ignorance."

Malak stared at her wordlessly for several seconds, digesting this information.

"If I were a Master," he started a short while later, "I'm sure at this point I would be starting a very long lecture on how such thoughts and rebellious doctrines lead to the Dark Side."

Revan offered a rueful shrug and nodded at his observation "Yeah, right about now is the time my past two Masters started becoming truly concerned over what kind of influence I may be having over the other Padawans. I haven't explained it to Zhar yet, but I'm sure that will result in me spending the next five years in constant meditation over the true meaning of the Code. It's just…" she sighed, she always had trouble putting into words just what she meant concerning her personal philosophy on the Code, "How can you know where the boundaries _really_ are, if you never even test them? I don't want to be _another _Jedi who is too afraid of what the Masters may think of me to even attempt thinking for myself."

His silence stretched on and Revan shifted uneasily. What was she doing, explaining all this to him? Especially that Zhar didn't know her thoughts yet. This was really all he needed to get her into worlds of trouble with their new Master. Frowning in silent accusation at Malak, did what she always did in these kinds of situations: take the offensive before the enemy had time to strike.

She folded her arms defensively over her chest, raising an expect eyebrow at his continued silence.

"Well, aren't you going to tell me what a horrible Jedi I am? Mock me? Report me to the Masters for heresy? It's your big chance you know, right here, right now. Come on Malak, you know you want to prove how much better you are than me. The son of a Sith knowing the Code better than the wonder child, how can you resist?"

His contemplative expression melted into the frown he customarily wore when dealing with her at that.

"You know what, Revan? I am better than you. I'm not so low as to accuse people of turning every moment of advantage into an attack." He turned from her then; storming into the anteroom and shoving open the heavy stone doors to the Council Chamber faster than she could hobble after him.

She rushed as best as she was able after him, taking her position in a tense bow only feet to his right. When Master Zhar turned from his contemplations to regard the Padawans before him, no signs remained of the near peaceful conversation they had shared; only the familiar bitterness the Order had come to expect from the two stood before him now.


	6. Oversights

_"Revan was my most promising pupil, and one I felt sure would someday become a champion of the Order._" ―Zhar Lestin in KOTOR

_Hello, floor. _Raven stared miserably at the far too familiar green tiles beneath her feet, and for a moment had the distinct impression it was surprised to see her again so soon. Her rigid bow fell into somewhat of a slump as that thought was processed.

_Excellent, now I'm considering the emotions of the floor. Maybe they are right, maybe I am crazy._

Zhar turned from the windows, descending the few stairs to the lower platform. The Council Chamber was divided into two levels by the three stairs, the elevated outer circle where the Master's chairs sat, and the level platform in the center of the Chamber where all others stood. She always preferred it when the Masters came down from the level of the chairs to speak with her. When they remained elevated she always had the feeling of being some kind of sacrifice to a host of angered gods. What worried her most was that this was the feeling the Masters intended to inspire.

Though her smaller Padawan braid had fallen from behind her ear to obstruct her view somewhat, she attempted to steal a glance at Malak as the Master approached. As was always the case when they were brought in for punishment, Malak's face was carefully schooled into the blank expression of a Jedi, though he hadn't quite mastered the look of unconcerned serenity Ga'el always managed to project in such situations. As Zhar finished his steps towards them, she could have sworn Malak glanced as her as well, his face tightening for only a second before their Master began to speak.

"Padawan Malak, you may wait outside the chamber. I have heard the details of the situation and would speak with Padawan Revan alone."

"Yes, Master." He bowed more deeply before Zhar, then turned and exited the chamber without a backwards glance at either of them.

Revan's heart dropped at the sounds of the stone doors dragging shut behind him. _This isn't good. _

"Stand, Padawan."

She straightened instantly, and held out her hands in a pleading gesture "Master, please, let me explain."

She bit her tongue as the Twi'lek held up a hand, signaling her to stop. She watched him with concern as he paced slowly in front of her, seemingly searching for the right words to express his disappointment.

That was what made Zhar so difficult to deal with. She and Vrook, though she would sooner renounce the Force than admit it, were alike enough that his frustration and lectures did little to affect her. As his Padawan, their 'discussions' had boarded on explosive, both too stubborn and proud to attempt to understand the others objections. When Vrook called her in for punishment, she knew what kind of a fight she was up against. Zhar, however, was like Ga'el: calm, rational, and patient to the point where Revan couldn't attempt to hold out against their arguments. And worst of all, they were never upset, at least as far as she had seen. They were two of the only Jedi she had met that when they claimed to only be disappointed in you, they really meant it.

Too bad she had never realized just how much worse disappointment was compared to being yelled at until after she had agreed to Zhar as her Master.

"Revan."

"Yes, Master."

"You have failed me this day." _Oh, force, this is going to be painful. _Her shoulders sagged further at the Masters statement, and she dropped her eyes to the floor in shame.

"I know Master."

"You have immense potential, Revan, more potential than I have seen in any Padawan I have yet trained. And because of this potential, certain, we shall call them _oversights,_ have occurred in your training up till now. Certain allowances made and behaviors indulged by the Council and myself because of the burden that must come with the gifts you possess."

Revan was closer to feeling guilty over her innate superior grasp of the Force and the freedoms it had bought her in the Temple than she had ever been. It wasn't his words so much, no; she had heard similar themes before. It was his tone. That blasted mixture of disappointment, regret, and shame, without a single touch of anger, frustration or blame mixed into it. He spoke of her failures, and seemed to take the fault for them onto himself.

"This afternoon has shown me quite clearly that such special treatment was short sighted, and has caused you more harm than good. And even as I say you have failed me, Revan, I should also say that this Council, and that I as your Master, have failed you."

If it were possibly to die from shame, she would be very close to having some kind of near-death experience.

"Master, please…" He held up his hand again, and she was forced into miserable silence.

"I will finish. What is done is done, and cannot be undone. Not even the most powerful of Jedi Masters can alter the past. The future, however, stands before us with its innumerable potentials and possibilities, and so it is now the future to which we much look. And there is no greater time to shape the future than in the present. Do you understand, Revan?"

"I think so, Master."

"Good. The first step towards a better future is to avoid the mistakes of our past. I will be considering carefully the oversights that have occurred in your education, and seeking to alter them so I may better serve as your Master. What step must you take, my Padawan, to prevent a repetition of this most inauspicious day?"

"I must learn to control my pride, Master. I must seek humility."

He nodded at her, but continued to wait, regarding her with expecting eyes.

"Master?"

"Is there anything more…specific, Padawan?"

She looked back up at him, a near defeated expression crossing her pale face. "Oh, Master must I really say it?"

There was no verbal reply, only the return of that disappointed, regretful look that made her want to sink into the Temple floor simply to escape it.

"I must resist my annoyance with Padawan Malak, Master."

"Only resist annoyance?"

"Master…"

"Revan."

Oh, what she would give to be having a snarling match with Vrook at this moment.

"I must…cooperate, with Padawan Malak, as a Jedi must coexist with all living things."

"Very good, my Padawan,"

"Thank you, Master."

A slight smile seemed to tug at the corner of his mouth and for a fleeting instant Revan wondered if he had faked the entire performance. It was ridiculous to think such a thing, of course. Jedi were forbidden to willfully lie.

Weren't they?

"You will have plenty of opportunity to demonstrate this peaceful state between the two of you in the coming weeks."

"Master?" She blinked in confusion at his sudden shift, attempting to remember just what was so important concerning the upcoming week that she and Malak would be forced to consistently interact.

"There have been rumors of certain suspicious activities on the planet of Kashyyyk. I have volunteered to investigate if these rumors have truth on behalf of the Council. As my Padawans, both you and Malak will be accompanying me on this journey."

Revan straighten immediately at this. Not only was she not, apparently, to be punished for this afternoon's blatant violation of Temple policy, but she was actually going to be allowed off world? Not only off world, but to an actual planet, not simply another Jedi Temple? And all she had to do in return was get along with Malak for a few weeks.

The last thought sobered her as she contemplated just how much trouble she would be in if she broke this one expectation of her. According to Zhar, the tolerance her innate talent with the Force had bought he was quickly coming to a close. Considering her meeting with Zhar earlier in which, according to him, Masters had actually expressed their doubts concerning her ability to complete her training, Revan was sure the consequences of failing her Master again would not be insignificant.

As if, and as she thought about in all likeliness he was, reading her thoughts Zhar simply smiled at the girl and walked close enough to rest a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I have complete faith that, once your mind is to it, you will exemplify the ways of the Jedi in any task put before you."

She nodded wordlessly, and he patted her shoulder once more before turning away from her, signaling her dismissal.

She paused before opening the Chamber door, turning to look back at her Master who had returned his attention to the sprawling city-planet before the windows.

"Shall I send Malak in, Master?"

"I think not, Padawan. As I understand, you were the only one who conducted themselves in a way not befitting a Jedi in this instance. Would you say that is fair?"

She held her tongue for a moment, considering for the briefest instant to explain to Zhar the moment that had occurred between the two of them. Certainly, Malak may not have acted outside what was considered proper during their duel, but if his thoughts had truly been akin to hers, he certainly was not thinking as a Jedi should. The moment passed however, and Revan merely nodded her head.

"Yes, Master."

"There is little reason for me to speak with young Malak, in that case. I will leave sharing the news of our impending departure to you."

"As you wish, Master."

"Good night then, Revan. I trust we will not be meeting again in this Chamber today."

He turned fully away from her then, his attention wandering to whatever deep thoughts and mysteries Masters pondered when left alone. Though he wouldn't see it, she bowed once more before pulling open the door and exiting the Chamber.

"Good night, Master."


	7. Teasing and Torture

_Revan was power. It was like staring into the heart of the Force. Even then, you could see the Jedi she would slay etched on her soul. _―Kreia in KOTOR II

Were the Force a kind, merciful entity, Malak would have left the anteroom after being dismissed by Master Zhar. He would have long since walked down the artificially lit corridors and retired to his chambers to polish his training blade, or practice his sneer, or whatever other things the Sith spawn did in his free time. This would have left Revan alone to slowly limp down the staircase, a much easier task than climbing up it, and would have given her time to figure out exactly how to behave in a non-confrontational manner with the boy, that didn't involve simply pretending he didn't exist.

It is a well known fact, however, that the Force is neither kind nor merciful. It isn't malicious or cruel either, it simple is. And it certainly doesn't do anyone any particular favors. It came as little surprise to the Padawan, therefore, that when she entered the anteroom a certain tattooed male remained kneeling in the center of it, pointedly ignoring her appearance. Her overwhelming desire to _not_ break the implied promise of not being called back into the Council Chamber again tonight she had made to Zhar only seconds ago was the only thing that forced Revan to, for once in her life, bite down on her tongue when facing the other Padawan. Literally. She was just starting to debate whether the metallic taste in her mouth was from the dried blood on her teeth from earlier, or if she really had just bitten off a portion of her tongue, when Malak stood and broke the silence.

"Do you have a message you're waiting to give, or has your brain finally shorted out?"

Yes, she was quite certain now that she had taken a small chunk off the very tip of her tongue at his last comment, or at least punctured it enough with her canine to cause a bleed. She took a deep breath through her nose. _Focus on the pain, don't let him irritate you, just think of the nice physical pain, there we go Now, just get to the point, quick and easy._

"You need to pack."

He rocked back on his heels at that, a hint of panicked confusion surfacing under the expression of annoyance she was so accustomed to. The stress of the day, and concern over how much damage her teeth were dealing to her poor tongue, caused Revan to not immediately pick up what his objections to that statement might be. A second later her mind caught up, and she was able to stop her morbid version of annoyance-management as she settled into firmly holding the upper hand in the conversation.

_He thinks Zhar is kicking him out. I can't fight him…but omitting certain information, just for a little while, isn't fighting, right? Right._

She suppressed a small grin as she nodded solemnly at him.

"Master Zhar says to gather your belongings, the departure will occur at dawn tomorrow."

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not. Go ahead Malak, I'd hope you have enough knowledge of the Force at this point to be able to read me." She spread her arms wide in an inviting gesture, waiting for him to sense her emotions through the Force.

He narrowed his eyes at her, and she quickly focused on the fact Master Zhar _had_ told her to inform him he was leaving the Temple. The fact that Zhar and she were going as well, or that is was only for a few weeks, was carefully suppressed from her consciousness. Learning to focus on only one item, or at times nothing at all, while ignoring the rest of your jumbled thoughts was the first technique every youngling was instructed on; meditation would be useless without it. Like everything else concerning the Force she had been instructed in, it was an ability that Revan instantly excelled at and had mastered long ago.

Malak's naturally pale complexion turned an even lighter shade of white as she felt his focus on her thoughts melt away.

"You're not lying." He broke eye contact with her, turning his attention to the closed Chamber doors in silent accusation. Though later she would blame it on the lingering effects of Zhar's skilled guilt trip, Revan actually felt her heart clench in something nearly resembling pity at the forlorn expression rapidly blooming on Malak's face. Looking away from the boy, she busied herself with taking off her outer training robe, attempting to get a better look at the so-far neglected ankle.

"Mmmm," she started idly, her eyes pointedly avoiding Malak, "It's a bit of a trip, but it should be exciting. I'm looking forward to it."

She felt his gaze snap back to her then, his eyes burning questioning holes through the top of her head as she continued looking down at the swollen joint.

"What are you talking about?"

"The departure, we're going to Kashyyyk for a bit. Something about rumors, I'm not entirely sure. You know Masters, if they aren't at least semi-cryptic the Force comes to hunt them down or something."

"Kash…we? _We_ are going to _Kashyyyk?!"_

Her almost-guilt melted away into amusement at his outrage, and she glanced up at him with a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Of course _we're _going. It wouldn't be right for a Master to take only one of their Padawan's, now would it? It would imply a kind of favoritism that is, frankly, most unbecoming of a Jedi. What in the galaxy did you think I was talking about?"

The black stare he gave her would have made a lesser Padawan shrivel where they stood. For Revan, however, it only caused her smile to branch into a full blown grin, one fit to rival the smile Malak had worn while she attempted to hop up the stairs. _Payback's a schutta, Mal._

Her pointed at her, his words stumbling over each other as his tone fought between outrage and relief "You…you did that on purpose, Revan."

"Oh come now, Malak, have a little fun. It was only teasing."

"Your idea of fun is what most people would call torture." His deepening frown told Revan that outrage had finally won his little internal battle and she shrugged, returning her attention to her ankle. If she poked it gently it only hurt a little…

"You can't get away acting like this, Revan. We're people, not pawns for your amusement." She rolled her eyes at this, looking up at him for a brief moment.

"Obviously not, because if you were you certainly wouldn't be this _boring_. I appreciate the fact you're upset I tricked you, but really Malak, this moral outrage thing is so ten seconds ago."

"You'll get yours in the end, Revan. It may take another decade, but you'll see what happens when you manipulate people for your own purpose." She shook her head, straightening up fully just in time to watch him turn and march stiffly down the stairway.

She folded the training robe over one arm as his form retreated towards the dormitories. Operation Make Peace with Malak had certainly gotten off to a rather poor start. Not that it was her fault. No Jedi should be _that _gullible. He was just asking for someone to show him the error of his ways. She should be thanked, really. She was teaching him about his own ignorance, a regular guide to the deeper meanings of the Code she was.

Thinking of ignorance brought her back to their earlier conversation, and the series of moments that had occurred before it. Something strange was happening here, but considering the amount of trouble she was already in with the Council, it was probably best to just let this one alone. Besides, she would have a few weeks nearly alone with the frustrating Padawan to figure out exactly what was occurring, she trusted enough in her understanding of the Force to be able to figure that one out on her own.

Dismissing the topic from her mind, she glanced around, insuring no one was present to witness her next move. Satisfied she was alone, the dark haired Padawan sat on the top step of the staircase. Placing her good foot in the stair below, she tucked her bad leg against her chest and began her bumpy, and rather humiliating, seated decent down the stairs.

Sighing quietly as she approached the bottom, an image of her being carried up these same stairs by a larger, balder, Padawan flittered across her minds eye. As she continued her journey she settled upon one optimistic thought about her encounter with Malak:

_Well, at least we didn't hit each other this time._

_

* * *

  
_

By the time Revan reached her shared dorm, the story of her and Malak's latest fight had spread through the Temple like wild fire. It was late enough that, save for the most advanced or dedicated students, lectures and training had ended for the day, but too early for the Apprentices and Padawans to have settled in for curfew. There were dozens of fellow students, therefore, to catch her on her way to her room and congratulate her on her latest escapade, or offer her solemn advice on how her actions would surely lead to the Dark Side, and everything in between. One older Padawan with a freshly created lightsaber, marking him as one about to undergo the trials to become a Knight, had been kind enough to let her examine his crystals while he healed the worst of her injuries from the day. She had tolerated his concerned lecture on what such lack of control often wrought far more easily than the others, and had promised to help him with any favors he may need in the future as a thank you.

It was with a relieved grin that Revan rested her forehead against cool metal door of her room. She could barely hear, though very clearly sense, the multiple occupants inside the often popular dorm. Finally entering the code into the keypad that would grant her entry, Revan strutted in to the room, taking in the sight before her.

El and Lae were engaged in a game of dejarik on El's bed, while Avri sat cross-legged on the floor observing. Pausing to look at the game, Revan quickly deduced a strategy for each side which would lead to victory within either a couple, or if the player wished to tease the opponent, several dozen moves. She raised an eyebrow at Ga'el, whose swift scowl let her know that, as usual, her help would not be appreciated by the self-reliant Padawan. Shrugging, she tossed her robe carelessly into the corner and collapsed on her bed, squirming enough so that within ten seconds all of Ga'el's previous hard work to straighten the mess was completely undone.

"So," Avri started, clearly uninterested by the battle of intellectual titans occurring before him, "What's the sentence this time?"

She grinned, rising up onto one elbow before replying. That was part of what she liked best about the young Twi'lek: she never had to figure out her own introductions to a subject. When Ga'el was particularly displeased with the way Revan had behaved, she tended to ignore her, forcing Revan to launch into her tales of adventure and daring-do in the most undramatic way. And Lae….well, Lae never said more that two or three syllables at a time if he could help it. Avri, on the other hand, had yet to lose the slight hero worship for the talented Revan. He played the part of her herald perfectly, granting her the opportunity to launch into what ever story she had to tell without the awkwardness of having to introduce the topic herself.

"I," she started with a grin, "Have been sentenced to a most horrid fate: a journey to Kashyyyk with Master Zhar to investigate something on behalf of the Jedi Council."

She looked at Ga'el and was not disappointed by the other girls' reaction. Pausing with her pawn in mid air, she turned to gape at Revan.

"You abuse the powers of the Force. In public. On _another Padawan_, no less, and he's taking you on a _mission?_"

"Yup."

"You're sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! We're leaving tomorrow, Master Zhar and I."

"And Malak." The brown haired human hadn't shifted his gaze from the game board before him, his eyes flickering from piece to piece as he plotted his next move.

"What?" Revan replied.

"Malak." Lae didn't extrapolate, the implication that Malak, as Zhar's other Padawan, would be going as well too obvious for him to waste breath spelling out.

"Well," Revan admitted with a deflating sigh, "of course he'll be going as well. A Master can't very well only take one of his Padawans. I was trying, however, to stick to the pleasant part of the story, not focus on the punishment part."

Ga'el gave her a hard stare, but said nothing at her dramatics concerning the male. Avri, however, seemed to have finally mustered up the courage to question his semi-idol.

"What is it with you two? With you and Malak, I mean."

Revan turned her full attention to the blue Padawan, and he shrunk back slightly, still not accustomed to the intensity of Revan's stare.

"I mean," he plowed on, "I know I said you two are just naturally opposing and all…but there's got to be something that started it, right? Cause, you know, even the Jedi and the Sith started fighting because of _something…_" he glanced at the other occupants of the room, searching for support of his assertion, "Didn't they?"

Revan rolled her eyes and climbed off the bed, heading to her dresser to dig out her traveling bag. Avri slumped in slight relief at the removal of her piercing gaze, but still glanced about nervously, unsure if he should continue his inquiry.

"Ask Ga'el," Revan finally suggested after pulling out the sack from her bottom drawer. Turning her attention to her clothing, she began pulling out the necessary items for the impending trip. "She tells the story _much_ better.'

Turning his hopeful eyes to the blonde on the bed, Avri smiled up at El. Knocking down her king with a defeated sigh, Ga'el offered her hand in congratulation to Lae, who in typical fashion only nodded at the gesture as he set up the board for the next round. Leaving him to his task, she shot Revan a humoring glance before settling back against the wall along her bunk.

"Well," the green eyes girl began, "I suppose we'll start in the traditional fashion. Once upon a time..."

_A/N: Ga'els story to be continued in the next chapter. I've been trying to get this story in for the last two chapters, but parting Revan and Malak has been a lot more difficult than anticipated. For instance, the first part of this chapter was only intended to take up a few paragraphs and the rest of the chapter dedicated to the story. You see how that's turned out._

_I just wanted thank you to everyone who has read, and especially those who have reviewed so far. Your comments have been incredibly helpful, and I hope you will continue pointing out my weak points. For those of you whose comments have not yet been addressed in the story, wait. I promise everything asked or pointed out will be dealt with eventually._


	8. Once Upon a Time

_Plans are fragile things, and life often dashes expectations to the ground. – Kreia_

"Once upon a time a very strange child, hardly more than a toddler, came to live at the Jedi Temple. Exactly where she had come from or which Master discovered her is unknown. After all, emotional attachments are forbidden to Jedi, and what better way to avoid the pulls of family or home-world than to have never known either? Rumors, as they so often do, burned through the Temple: the girl was the daughter of one of the Masters, she had been discovered when she use the Force to throw her nursemaid across the room from the cradle, the child had no father. Any number of ridiculous theories flew about the girl, and a dozen odd prophecies were attached to her by various Masters before the first training blade was placed into her hands.

Being such an anomaly, the girls training was natural complicated by various factors. Rarely is one so young, one with such a blank mind, admitted into the Temple. Each Master had his or her own theory on how such rich clay should be molded, leading to multiple, and often conflicting, methods of raising her. These complications bred what all forms of chaos breed: more chaos. To calm the swirling of her own mind, the child quickly learned to pick and chose from her various Master's teachings, forging her own methods from the various techniques presented her. These actions of the Masters in combination with the child's own unique personality, led, of course, to the aggravating individual we are all unfortunately acquainted with today."

A shirt flew across the room, one deftly caught by the blonde Padawan before it had the chance to reach the intended destination of her face.

"Would you like this back, Revan?" She held out the clothing to her, the usual serene smile gracing her face in reply to the dark haired girls annoyed scowl.

"I thought you were going to tell the story about the day I rescued you from Malak, not give an entire history lesson." She stalked across the room, snatching the shirt, and returned to her post by her dresser to shove the offending article into her travel sack.

"She's right, Ga'el." Avri chirped from his position on the floor. "Everyone knows that no one knows where she's from, and the whole gifted and talented thing is no secret. And…" he glanced over worriedly at Revan for a moment, apparently unsure just how far he could push his luck with his new friends, "The aggravating part is kind of a given."

"Hey!" Revan exclaimed, turning betrayed eyes to the Twi'lek.

A soft chuckle emitted from the slender girl on the bunk, returning the attention of both to Ga'el.

"One cannot jump into a story in the middle, Avri. The present is not built upon a series of unrelated incidents, but rather a steady progression of events, each building upon the others to create the world we now see. To explain only the initial meeting between the two would be to cheapen an over half decade long rivalry into a petty squabble. If you wish to appreciate the game, you must first fully know the players involved. Do you understand?"

The boy nodded sheepishly, obviously impressed by the older Padawans' insight. Revan merely rolled her eyes, waving an arm to indicate Ga'el should continue with her history lesson.

"Now, as I was saying, this gifted child, we shall call her Revan for the sake of clarity." A quiet snort emitted from the present day Revan, though a quick glance from Ga'el silenced her mirth, "This child was unrivaled in her abilities with the Force, learning in weeks that which took Masters years, and mastering in days techniques that took far older Apprentices months to even begin to comprehend.

As you know, the Jedi Code strictly forbids the harboring of strong emotions and does so for a very good reason: they are the first steps to the Dark Side. Even the most prudent of students, however, are not entirely immune to the bitter sting of jealous, especially when all their hard work and dedication seems nothing in comparison to the rapid success of one so obviously less disciplined. Revan's unparalleled ascent through the ranks caused certain disturbances among the student body. She found herself ostracized from her peers, isolated even more than the typical Apprentice by her talents and poorly concealed arrogance.

It was around the time that the Masters were growing truly concerned over the rift between their child of prophecy and the rest of the Temple that two arrivals occurred in rapid succession. The first was of a young girl, a recently discovered Force-sensitive that bordered on the age of unacceptability into the Temple. Several factors forced the Masters hand in her admittance, the most important of which being that, despite the child's apparently feeble connection to the Force, she possessed an uncontrolled ability to sense the inner most feelings of others more easily and more intensely than most Masters. This ability was, in short, beginning to deteriorate the girls grasp on sanity as she felt more and more the unwanted thoughts and feelings of those surrounding her."

"That was you!" The Twi'lek chirped happily, his tone expression betraying his own pride in himself for having deduced that fact.

"Mmmm," Ga'el replied, tucking her legs up under her in a cross legged position, "that girl was me. I will not go into detail on the difficulties of those first few months, but know that being surrounded by so many others open to the Force did little to ease my troubles. In fact, the invasion of thoughts and feelings only intensified, making tasks as simple as discerning which emotions were mine and which belonged to those around me near impossible."

"But," Avri interjected once more, "I don't understand. I've known you for months now, and you're not constantly hear my thoughts….are you?"

Ga'el smiled kindly at the questioning boy, "No, I do not feel anything from you unless I wish to. It took me many years, and a great deal of help to reach this point. But, have patience, young Padawan. We are nearly done introducing the players. The drama will soon unfold."

Avri nodded, placing a hand over his mouth to indicate his silence.

"The second arrival, as you may have guessed, was none other than the male lead of our story: Malak. Much like Revan, dear Malak had a whirlwind of rumors and speculation surrounding him as well, though some for far more nefarious reasons than those of our heroine. He was certainly talented, his rate of mastering techniques nearly, but never quite, rivaling that of Revan. He was also considered brilliant by most who knew him, charismatic in extreme to those who spoke with him, and, most famously, was the lone child of one of the Lords of the Sith. No one knows, save for the Masters and perhaps Malak himself, how he came to be separated from his mother to dwell in the Temple, or specifically which Lord he was descended from, but the facts of his ancestry were too amazing to be kept hidden from even the newest younglings of either Temple.

Malak was a bit of an instant celebrity, because of this. Unlike Revan, he was a novelty to the Temple. Unknown by any of the other students, his talents couldn't be resented as he had entered their lives that level of expertise, not soared past them during the acquisition of it. The fact that even his superior abilities failed to match Revans helped him as well, giving him a common ground with the rest of the Padawans. He was new, he was exotic, and he was welcomed fully by his peers.

Had only one of these arrivals occurred, or perhaps even had they occurred in a different order, this story may have lead to a very different conclusion. However, it was the will of the Force that the events occurred as they did, and so we live in the world of what is rather than that of what may have been.

The meeting between two such talented individuals was inevitable, especially when the many prophecies and expectations of greatness and glory that had accumulated between the two were taken into account. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how much one is willing to trust in the wisdom of the Force, their first encounter was not a peaceful one. The prophecies and plans of the Masters had failed to take into account one variable: the presence of a single, not particularly talented, Apprentice at their first meeting."

Revan grinned from across the room, tossing her packed traveling sack onto the floor as she plopped onto her bunk.

"Finally, we get to the good part."

"As you say, Revan." Ga'el shifted slightly, resting her arms across her legs in typical meditation pose as she returned to the story.

"It had not been a good day for me. The morning had been spent in a group meditation session, one of the more difficult aspects of my training in those days. Surrounded by dozens of other students, each doing nothing more than focusing their thoughts into crystal clear images, was a type of torture for my untrained mind, consisting of a constant battery of razor sharp thoughts coming at me from all angles. Finally tiring of the exertion merely keeping from screaming was taking from me, I had left the class early without proper dismissal. Punishment was sure to follow, but as I stumbled through the halls in an attempt to find solitude, I was hardly in the state of mind to care.

Therefore I was in a bit of a state when I came across Malak. In his defense, I will say I imagine even normal teenage boys are uncomfortable and confused when dealing with weeping women. For a teenage boy who had been trained to avoid emotions of any kind, being confronted by such a spectacle must be even worse."

"Yeah," Revan cut in skeptically, "being confused is a perfect excuse for yelling at a crying girl until she reaches the point of hysteria. I'll have to remember that one."

"He_ yelled_ at you?" Arvi asked, eyes wide as moons at that tidbit.

"No. And yes. It is more he exclaimed loudly in my general vicinity…Revan, you are getting me off track."

A sarcastic apology came from the blue eyes girl and Ga'el sighed, resuming her tale.

"As Revan so charmingly indicated, Malak's reception of my arrival was less than ideal. Being startled out of a solitary training exercise by a sobbing child can have that effect on people. There was a brief exchange between us, before Revan entered the picture…."

Ga'el turned to stare out the window at the back of the room, her eyes looking beyond the city-planet outside, seeing only the past before her.

_She tore down the majestic halls of the Temple, turning down corridors and cutting across lecture halls at random, barely seeing the scenery around her. Every person she past sent a blast of emotion rocking through her, the flimsy defense she could usually construct to diminish the projections of others long since destroyed during that morning's constant exposure to her fellow Apprentices. She turned a corner, then fell back with a strangled cry as the force of a room of frustrated Padawans attempting to master a new technique washed over her. A loud sound of stone against stone accompanied her hasty retreat, but the tears swelling in her eyes prevented her from seeing what it was she had disturbed._

_Turning sharply to the left, she stumbled forward, coming to a forced stop several seconds later as her legs banged against the edge of one of Temple's large circular fountains. Dropping to her knees, she slumped over the edge of the wall, gasping through pained sobs over the tranquil water._

_A wave of annoyance and distressed confusion washed through her, and it was several seconds before she could determine the feelings were not originating from her. Her grip on the fountain tightened and her eyes clenched shut as she attempted to block the unwelcome emotions._

"_Please…" she whispered, "please just go away. I can't…I can't stop it."_

_All annoyance bled away from her, uncertainty and slight fear rising to take its place. She never opened her eyes, but could feel the emotions intensify as the person walked towards her._

"_What's the matter with you?" the male voice was raised in the tone of the anxious._

"_Please. Just leave me alone." Her whispered words ended in a half groaned cry of pain as another wave of emotion, far stronger than any of the others she had encountered, crashed into her. She raised her hands to her temples, digging her palms into the flesh as if she could physically drive the invading emotions out. _

"_What the __**frack**__ are you doing to her?" A new feminine voice, the source of the overpowering wave, broke into the scene. She struggled, tried to shove aside the foreign emotions long enough to explain, but her words only came out in drawn-out groan as the boys' feelings, faint now in her mind compared to the force of the girl, changed from anxiety to anger at the accusation._

"_I'm not doing anything to her! She came in here like this."_

"_Yeah, sure. Apprentices in the Temple have emotional break downs all the time, right?"_

"_Listen, I don't know who you are, but you have no idea what is happening here."_

"_Who I am isn't important; I'm not the one driving other students into hysteria! That's you…you. I __**know**__ you. You're the one all the Masters have been talking about. Of course. I should have expected something like this from the Sith Spawn."_

"_**What**__ did you call me?"_

_The rest of the conversation was lost to the girl. The commotion had drawn a herd of students from the surrounding classrooms to their location, and the ever growing ring of spectators was adding exponentially to the blonde's pain. The excitement, anger, and curiosity of the congregation flooded her, destroying any chance she had of digging through to find her own swirling emotions. _

_She struggled wildly as she felt something forcing her hands away from her face, her mouth opening to form silent screams she couldn't focus long enough to give voice. The river of emotions surged, dragging her down until…_

_**Stop**_

_The world fell into odd silence, a numbness descending over her that she hadn't felt since before the Force had awoken fully within her. She could see nothing but bright blue surrounding black before her; hear nothing but two heartbeats, one pounding frantically, the other a slow and steady rhythm that the first gradually came to match._

_**You're okay.**_

"_I'm okay." She whispered back. Worn from the massive overlord of only seconds before, the slim girl slumped forwards, her head coming to rest on the shoulder of the figure before her, long blonde hair falling to tangle with dark raven strands._

A sudden sound filled the room, and Ga'el started on the bed, turning to meet the amused eyes of Revan. The dark haired girl snapped her fingers again, grinning at her friend before wandering back to her side of the room.

"Lost you there for a sec, El. Weren't you telling some kind of story or something? I tuned out a bit towards the middle there, so I'm not entirely sure."

Avri looked up at her hopefully from the floor, waiting for her to complete the tale.

"Forgive me; I was reflecting back on what an utter annoyance Revan was in those days. Then depressed myself by recalling how little she has changed since the age of ten."

Revan stuck out her tongue at her friends, only confirming the other girls observation.

"Now where was…ah yes, I had just stumbled upon Malak, and we were awaiting Revan's dramatic entrance into the production.

As I mentioned, Malak was very uncertain of how to handle a distressed nine year old and, as you can imagine, made a rather botched job of it. Or rather, was in the process of botching the attempt when our conquering hero arrived. Revan, being the human whirlwind she is, descended upon the picture and, in less than a second, determined that it was poor Malak who was the source for all my distress. As the hero, she then promptly went about attempting to scare him away for my protection.

"Technically," Revan drawled from her bunk, "it _was_ his fault you were _still_ crying. If no one else had been around you would have been fine."

"Technically, in that case," Ga'el replied calmly, "the worst part of my distress was _your_ fault, as it was _your _yelling and accusations that dragged half the Temple out to see what was going on."

"Well, if you put it _that_ way."

"There are always multiple truths to every situation, Revan. Do not assume only yours is the only correct one. Now, with your permission?" Revan waved her hand dismissively.

"Thank you. Now, I will not go into the many and highly personal details of that encounter, but suffice to say Revan publicly scolded Malak, then rushed in to save the Maiden Fair from her own internal distress."

"Revan saved you?" Avri wondered from the floor.

"Not to boost her already startling ego, but yes, in a manner she did. As I said before, Revan's connection to the Force is something simply beyond what most can understand, let alone imitate. Being able to sense others emotions once she had purposefully projected her thoughts to me therefore was like…like attempting to hear babbling brooks over the roar of the ocean. I'm not sure I could do it if I tried.

My hysterics, as Revan so kindly called them, were swiftly put to an end by her before an entire crowd of students. Revan, the great hero defending the poor damsel in distress from the evil force of Malak. T his story, like so many others since, quickly spread through the Temple. She was an over night sensation.

This increase in Revan's popularity was, naturally, a bit of a blow to Malak's. One cannot be portrayed as the villain without some consequences. And so event both created and cemented their relationship somewhat. As you said yourself earlier, Revan and Malak became like the Sith and the Jedi that day. Students starting skipping classes when they heard the two of them would be in vicinity of each other, just on the off chance these two talented Padawans would put on a show for them. And, well," she cast Revan a disapproving glance, "neither Revan or Malak have ever been ones able to resist the cheering of the crowd."

"So…that's it?"

"Indeed it is."

"Really?"

Revan turned to the Twi'lek at that, raising an eyebrow. "And just what's wrong with that?"

"I don't know," he started hesitantly, "I suppose I just expected something a little more…you know, epic."

"Well," Revan conceded, "El _did_ leave out the part where Malak's mother killed my family and burned down my home world."

"_Really?!"_

"No, stupid, of course not. It's like El said, I don't even know what world I'm from. Would make the whole recalling my slaughtered family thing a bit tricky, wouldn't you say?" She rolled onto her back on the bed, regarding the ceiling seriously. "Though, there is a _bit _more to it. Ever since that first day, if I'm around him things sometimes get…fuzzy."

"Fuzzy." Avri repeated, confused.

"I don't know how to explain it. Things just feel disconnected sometimes." Revan shrugged, rubbing her arms in discomfort at the admission.

"But, you know El, when you tell the story like that it does make our entire rivalry seem a bit self-absorbed and shallow."

"Have you considered the fact that the entire rivalry _is_ self-absorbed and shallow?" the blonde countered.

"Of course not."

Ga'el sighed, shaking her head in before retuning her attention to the game board Lae had been patently waiting besides as she told her tale. "Of course not."


	9. The Shadowlands

_It is all that is left unsaid upon which tragedies are built. – Kreia  
_

The journey from the Temple to Kashyyyk was an interesting time for Revan. Despite the repeated vows of poverty and renouncement of material wealth, as a Master of the Jedi Order Zhar was entitled to one of the finer small transports the Republic Military had to offer for the mission. What the ship had in speed and maneuverability, however, it sacrificed in space. The ship had been built to comfortably accommodate four, but due to Malak's impressive size it seemed to have barely enough room to hold the three of them.

Essentially, unless she was prepared to lock herself in the tiny fresher for the entirety of the voyage, avoiding any of her fellow passengers was simply impossible. This had its benefits as well as its draw backs. While it was true she and Malak were forced into contact with each other for nearly every waking moment, Zhar was also a constant presence between them. With the serene Master around, both Padawans were incapable of uttering any kind of offensive or backhanded insults, and any non-Jedi sanctioned activities that Revan may have otherwise indulged in were forgotten during the closely supervised trip. Relative days and nights, as there was no true time in space, were spent only in peaceful meditation and thought provoking discussion between the Masters and his Padawan's.

Despite her misgivings, Revan found the time around Malak tolerable, if nothing else. When kept focused and on target by the Master, the discussion between the two Padawan's on issues ranging from the Code, to the relations between the Republic and the Jedi, to the advantageous of various lightsaber techniques, were not only civil, but lively. Both had the sharp mind and wit that, in addition to superior Force or fighting ability, set them apart from their fellow students. When their personal differences were forced aside by the Master, their debates were nothing short of enlightening.

Like all good things, however, Revan had no doubt the heavily enforced truce between the two of them was bound to end eventually. Having landed on the surface of Kashyyyk nearly an hour ago, the Padawans waited by one of the largest worshyr trees in that particular area of the swamp covered Shadowlands while Master Zhar scouted ahead. Having grown bored of gazing into the abyss like fog that covered the ground after only a few minutes, and with no real grasp of what they were supposed to be searching for, Revan had quickly sought other ways to amuse herself. Shortly after Zhar's departure she had cheerfully climbed up the trunk of the tree, and was currently testing her balance by walking along its lower branches and draped, sagging vines. Even at the lowest level, she still towered dozens of feet above the pacing Malak who, in typical boring fashion, stood at the base of the trunk, glaring up at the girl.

"Revan, come down from there."

Sticking her tongue out at the boy below, Revan placed her hands on the branch before her and, lifting her feet off the tree, proceeded to continue forward hand-walking.

"I mean it. I know how this works. You're going to fall, and I'm going to be the one punished for it."

A shot like lightening went through her spine at that statement, and Revan's right hand slipped off the branch, the rest of her body following rapidly after it.

For an instant, she could see nothing but dark gray fog around her; hear nothing but the ragged drags of her own breath. The sharp smell of blood and metal, sizzling flesh and burnt clothing did not make sense to her. And faintly, as if from a distance, words that more floated through her brain than were actually heard formed.

_If you had not led me down the dark path in the first place, what destiny would I have found?_

Without conscious thought, her other hand shot out, grasping the nearest vine. Revan swung down from the tree, landing gracefully on one of the projected roots below. She whipped her head around viciously, eyes wide. Everywhere, the Shadowlands remained. The thick wall of fog that had clouded her vision was replaced by the light mist and wild landscape, the thick perfume of rotting wood and blossoming flowers existed where only an instant before the stenches of battle had been. Still over ten feet above Malak's head from her position, Revan covered her face with one hand before he could see her wild-eyed expression.

_What was __**that**__?! _

Her mind raced, trying to think of anything she had felt before remotely like the sensation that had just coursed through her. It was if for an instant she hadn't been entirely on Kashyyyk, she was also somewhere else, some _time_ other than the current one. She had heard the expression of feeling like someone was walking over your grave, but never before had she experienced it.

Something touched her shoulder and she jerked forward instinctively. Rolling along the root, she came up quickly several feet away, drawing both her long and short vibroblades as she turned to face the threat.

Malak stood before her, one hand still raised to where it had rested on her shoulder, a perfect mixture of confusion and annoyance covering his face. She turned away from him with a shaky breath, tucking her blades back into their sheaths. Wrapping her arms tightly around her chest, she closed her eyes, fighting to gain control of her frantically pounding heart and racing mind.

_What __**was**__ that?_

"Revan…are you alright?"

"Revan?"

"Revan."

"Nymada!"

She jumped at hearing her first name, clutching her arms more tightly around her.

"What?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. I mean...maybe. I don't know…I…I think…"

She heard him take a deliberately noisy step closer to her. Like she was some kind of wild animal, he was trying not to make any sudden movements. She didn't know whether to be insulted by the comparison, or relieved she wouldn't have to find out how apt it was if he snuck up on her again.

"Yes?"

"I think I…" she turned her head slightly, enough so he could see the side of her face, while her gaze remained locked on the Shadowlands before her. "I think I may have remembered something that didn't happen."

"Like a vision?"

"No. I…I don't know. I was…" she rubbed her face with one hand, "I've had…flare ups before, dreams, but nothing like…I don't know."

"Does this happen often?" The wary skepticism lacing his voice was not overly welcome at that exact moment. She released a frustrated sigh, spinning on her heel to face him fully, her arms still wrapped securely around her torso.

"No, _Malak, _if it did, do you think I'd be freaking out for your amusement?"

"Trust me, dealing with psychotic women is hardly my definition of _fun_."

"I am _not_ crazy!"

"Alright, alight! Whatever you say."

She snapped her upper body away from him instantly, scowling into the swamp. Of all the people in the Galaxy, her visions had to start intensifying in front of _him_. Something was nagging at the back of her mind, something important, but try as she might she couldn't grasp it. Each blink brought a flash of deep gray mist, shoving whatever meaning may be trying to surface further away. A pounding was starting in her brain and her eyes flickered around wildly, trying to find something, anything, other than the pain to concentrate on. Malak moved closer again, a blur in the corner of her eye.

"And where the bloah do you get off calling me by my first name, huh?"

"_What?"_

"My name, my first, detested name. Who the frack do you think you are to be calling me that?!"

"_You_ _are insane_. I don't know what I was thinking, trying to act in some kind of civilized sentient manner when dealing with you."

"Well, _Sarevok_, since we're all so close here, I have no idea what you were thinking either!"

The insult made no sense, even to her. She just needed the distraction from the pulsing occurring behind her eyes. The act of arguing with Malak was familiar to the point of being automatic. A little more attention to the activity would have resulted in far more sensible replies, but for now it would do.

He shook his head in agitation, taking another step closer with his mouth opening to reply. Revan took a deep breath, mentally begging him to simply carry on the argument, for something, anything to stop the throb. He paused, however, his head tilting to the side as he focused on something on the ground beyond her. He muttered a curse and drew out his single vibroblade.

"Crazy time's going to have to wait for now. We've got trouble."

Turning to find the source of Malak's distress, Revan's eye quickly widened as well. A pack of katarn charged towards the tree, the first of them already preparing to leap from the ground onto the base of the root they stood upon. The pounding in her head raced downwards, he heart now thundering in her chest at approaching creatures.

_Be careful what you ask for._

Malak grabbed her arm, wrenching her to the side and adopting a defensive pose in front of her. His free hand shot out, sending the lone katarn into a wild spin in the air before it had a chance to land on the root.

"Oh, we're in trouble."

From her new angle of observation, Revan could see another part of the pack coming up from the side and, she was fairly certain, another batch would be charging from their other side if she cared to look. Looking around desperately, her eyes settled upon a nearly twenty foot rotted branch several yards from the pair. Raising one arm into the air, Revan felt the familiar flood of energy pour into her as she called upon the Force. The branch snapped in half once it reached a yard above the ground, and her second hand flew forward, catching the tumbling piece before it reached the ground. Swinging her left arm in a powerful arc, the first half sailed through the air and plowed into the pack charging from the right side of the root. The creatures yelped in pain as several of them were driven to the ground, and a second wave of cries was pulled from the remaining katarn as the other half of the branch followed quickly after.

Several of them were already shaking off the impact as she turned back to Malak. Three katarn spun in the air a few feet before him and another splattered blood across this robe as his blade drove through it in mid-air. He swung his blade quickly to the side, sending the mortally wounded creature flying into the Shadowlands, instantly returning the weapon to a defensive position before him. Revan raised her hand once more, shoving one of the next two charging creatures back to the ground, and quickly catching it with the Force once more before it had time to hit the dirt, throwing the creature with all her might against a near by tree. The second spray of blood caused by Malak's blade splattered on her face and robe as the creature managed to climb closer than any of its pack mates before his sword hit home.

"We can't hold this!" The words had come out as a yell, but the growls and screams from the attacking animals nearly drowned her voice. She held up both hands, freezing the two nearest creatures as she met Malak's eyes. Understanding passed between them, and without another word they turned as one to the tree. Launching themselves forward with the Force, the two climbed the massive tree, leaping from branch to branch, turning back only to shove or freeze their pursuers with the Force.

Revan paused when she heard Malak growl with pain. A few branches behind her, Malak clung to the trunk of the tree with one hand, his other viciously swinging a blade at the katarn latched onto his calf. A second katarn quickly joined the first, pouncing upwards to bite deeply into his weapon bearing arm. The sudden imbalance of weight shifted his body forward, his tenuous stance ruined as he tumbled off the branch back towards the ground below.

Revan reached after him with the Force, slowing his rapid decent until he landed on branch only a few dozen feet about the ground. Her attention to the other Padawan was cut short as one of the creatures charged at her, only to impale itself on the short blade she quickly braced before her. Sneering at the few katarn snapping at her from their position on the trunk, Revan shoved herself off the branch. Tucking her arms tightly against her body, Revan fell past the advancing animals, and landed in a crouch next to the bloodied Malak. Snapping the blades up before her, she regarded the advancing pack of creatures, many still climbing up the trunk towards them, several leaping off higher branches to land near them or be shoved off course by the Force and crash to the ground below.

Malak had made quick work of his two attackers once he had landed, and was already putting his blade into action, dispensing whichever katarn managed to land near them. Revan tucked her blades away, trusting her companion to deal with any animal close enough to be struck by his sword. She released a deep breath, centering herself as she called upon all her remaining reserves of energy to shape the Force around her. Ignoring the weariness starting to creep into her limbs, she shot her hands forward, lifting, shoving, freezing, throwing, and twirling as many katarn as she could, as quickly as she could.

They kept coming. One managed to leap upon Malak, sinking its teeth into his shoulder before she managed to shove it away from him, another landed only a foot from her, knocking her to her side as it landed a swipe to her right leg. A shower of blood fell on her as Malak swiftly removed its head, the lifeless body slumping to the side and tumbling off the branch.

As Revan shoved herself back to a standing position, a flicker of light briefly caught her attention. Her heart soared, a new energy rushing into her, as she identified the source as a swinging lightsaber. Her concentration faltered, however, and a katarn fell short of its intended destination at her distraction, landing gracefully on the ground instead of in a broken heap against the base of another tree, as she noticed the color of the weaving blade.

_Purple. Master Zhar's blade is yellow._

"Revan!"

The cry came too late, her moment of distraction costing the Padawan dearly. A katarn had launched itself from above, sinking its razor sharp teeth into Revan's still extended arm on its trip down. The sudden weight jerked her arm downwards, flipping her forward in a head-over-heels decent towards the ground.

Malak's expression of shocked horror was the last thing she saw before her head smashed into a gnarled root below, an explosion of light and pounding finally faded completely away as her vision turned to black.

_A/N: While doing some wookiepedia research for the next chapter, I came across the fact that while in Jedi training Malak's name was __**Alek Squinquargesimus. **__Wow. Obviously, we can add the fact he is called Malak during training and the new first name I gave him to the growing pile of what makes this story AUish._

_To give credit where it is due, the name Sarevok is blatantly stolen from the amazing game Baulders Gate (If you haven't played it, I suggest you get to it, especially the sequel). Before I knew what a monstrosity Malak's real name was, I thought an equally harsh sounding first name would fit, and I've always had a soft spot for that name._


	10. Visions and Versions

_**Jolee**__: You know, you remind me of someone I used to know. Promising young person, great destiny. Breath like a bantha._

_**Amnesiac Revan**__: Did you annoy this person endlessly, too?_

_KOTOR_

_She was on the elevated ring of the Jedi Council Chamber. The twelve chairs of the Masters did not border the room, however, only one obsidian high backed chair, a throne if she were generous, stood directly opposite the stone entrance to the Chamber. She sat upon the chair, one hand cupping her chin as the other played idly with the strangely familiar weight of the lightsaber at her side. The city planet of Coruscant throbbed with life outside the windows as always, but inside the Chamber there was only her._

_And him. She called it a him for convenience sake, for in truth no matter how long she focused on the figure she could not determine a gender, or a species, or any defining feature. He simply was. With the logic of dreams, she knew the formless Jedi before her had both always been there, and had not been present until she turned to notice him. The Master, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt he was a Master, stood on the lowered platform before her. An inactivated lightsaber hung limply in his hand and his eyes stared unseeing before him until her gaze fell upon him. The instant she acknowledge his existence, his eyes met hers, and for a moment she was taken aback by the look in them. A haunted hopelessness lingered in them, the gaze of the long hunted pray, captured at last. And pain. The pain of a thousand lost souls, a million lifetimes worth of regret and loss shined at her through his eyes._

_She stood from her throne, walking to the very edge of the elevated circle before she tilted her head at him. The voice that left her throat was undeniably hers, but tinged was with a soul deep pain that the young Revan could not begin to comprehend._

"_Why? Why must it be this way? Has the code blinded you so? Can you not feel the pain of this dying galaxy?"_

_He said nothing, only staring at her with the same haunted eyes._

"_I will ask again, Jedi. How can you justify yourself? Why have you let it come to this?"_

_He turned from her, his eyes down cast as she continued, begging to know how this had happened, why the Code had been allowed to fail so utterly. He never said a word, as if he couldn't hear her._

_Suddenly, they were no longer alone. The room was filled with wild, angry sentients. Humans and aliens of all sizes and shapes, some bleeding or burned, wailing children and shouting men surrounded them. They pointed at the Jedi, screamed and cursed, and Revan rocked backwards at the wall of hate that flooded her senses from the mob. They surged forward then, falling on the Jedi. He never moved as they tore at him, and soon she lost sight of the lone figure._

_Hours or seconds passed, time meaningless in her vision, and finally the crowd fell back to leave the torn and bloodied Master laying on the floor. A wordless chant rose from the crowd, throbbing though her veins as the meaning surfaced in her mind. The lightsaber in her hand hissed to life, the silver blade extending as she stepped forward. Her eyes never left the broken figure before her as she raised her arm, then swung down in one fluid motion. There was no blood, no body, only a tarred cloak fluttering to the ground as her blade sliced through his chest. She deactivated the saber, and the blade that flickered off now gleamed a brilliant red against her black robes._

_A dead silence had fallen over the chamber and she turned to gaze at the mob, but she was once more alone, the countless beings having faded into nothing at the swing of her blade. She turned from the fallen robe to return to her throne, only to discover it too had vanished. She continued forward to stand at the Chamber window. _

_She reached a hand to touch the glass and gasped, recoiling at the sight that flashed before her eyes. She could see thousands of billions screaming, crying for the man she had cut down. Across the Galaxy an inhuman wail rippled through the Force at his loss. And then she heard a whisper rising below the wail, a quite murmuring that made her fist clench in grieving rage. _

_The countless masses were whispering her name, and leaving her the blame._

"It was all for _you_!" she screamed, sitting bolt upright from the bunk below her. Or at least she attempted to, as half way through the motion her head slammed against solid wood, sending her sailing back into the bunched robes severing as her pillow.

Both hands came up to rub the throbbing spot on her forehead as she moaned pitifully on the bunk, the memory of the nightmare evaporating like mist at the white hot pain. She pulled a hand away hesitantly, checking for blood. She groaned again at the thin layer of sticky red liquid covering her palm and turned to look for something to stem the flow. Everything had gone blurry around the edges as she attempted to search her surroundings; the entire world appearing as nothing but fuzzy brown, spotted with the occasional shapeless blobs of color. A darker brown than background blob suddenly moved towards her, and her senses screamed at her through the Force that it was a sentient, one who shared a connection with the Force at that. And though she could sense both near by, the figure approaching her was most certainly neither her Master nor Malak.

"Well," the blob ventured in an amused drawl, "while that is certainly a sweet offer, I'm afraid you're a bit young for me."

"What?" she snapped, the world slowly starting to take on a more definite shape as her mind cleared from the blow.

"Killing all those katarns for me, even if you couldn't finish the job. Seems that the only thing you've had time for, unless there's something else in that 'all' you did for this old coot you'd like to talk about."

Revan shook her head, grimacing at the pain the simple gesture brought. The blob before her laid a hand on her head, and she sighed softly as the rejuvenating feeling of Force healing washed over her. Opening her eyes she was able to finally get a good look at her surroundings.

"Am I," she questioned slowly, "in...a tree?" As she took in the area, she had to admit that a tree was pretty much the only option she could come up with. The single circular room was a fairly good side, at least twenty feet in diameter, and had the entirely of its furniture, from the table and stools to the hollowed out shelf which was currently doubling as her bunk, carved from the walls and floor themselves.

"Now, I know your feelings are hurting from my rejection, but that's no reason to be looking' down on a man's only home."

Raven sighed, using the bunched robes under her head, her own torn and bloodied robes she discovered, to wipe away the blood still lingering on her forehead from the healed wound.

"What, in the name of all that is good and logical, is going on? And just who are you, anyway?" She finally took a good look at the man currently talking to her. The old man wore the pale brown robes of a Jedi, complete with a lightsaber clipped to his belt, ane the white mustache and goatee served as the only hair on his wrinkled head. The man chuckled at her from his squatting position before her.

"Why, I'm the crazy old man of the Shadowlands, don't they teach you kids anything these days? I'm also the one who saved your pretty little behind from a certain and digestion related death."

"Digestion related?"

"Yup. What do you think happens when a katarn eats you, a jump through hyperspace?"

Revan gave a frustrated sigh in response, sitting up, carefully this time, to swing her legs over the side of the recessed bunk.

"Not that that one wasn't doing a pretty bang up job," the old man continued, gesturing to Malak's unconscious form on a table across the room, "but even a lad his size can't hold out fighting on ground forever."

She turned to regard Malak for a moment, mentally sighing in relief at the fact his wounds seemed to have been healed as well and he was currently breathing peacefully, though certainly in a cramped position, not too far from her. _Idiot. Giving up the higher ground like that. Did he __**want**__ to get himself killed?_ The grateful feeling that bubbled up at the thought he had rushed to save her was promptly squashed. _Really, some people just had a hero complex._

"Listen," she began, speaking slowly to be sure she was understood, "crazy person. Who _are_ you?"

It was his turn to sigh as he shook his head at her "That's the problem with young people these days, no patience at all, no motivation to figure out the riddles on their own. Why, when I was your age we'd sit outside the Temple, just begging the Masters to spout something cryptic at us so we could have the joy of spending the afternoon puzzling out what they meant. Ah, those were the days. You had properly cryptic Masters back then too, none of these new fangled honest and sincere types you have running around these days. Why, I remember Master Garsh…."

"And when was this, exactly?" she interjected agitatedly, "Before the Jedi and the Sith split?"

"Ho ho! Don't we have a sharp one here? Keep that up and I'll be forced to reconsider your offer."

"_What_ offer? For Force sakes, what are you _talking_ about!?"

"That is quite enough, Jolee. I believe my Padawan has been through enough for one day." Master Zhar entered the tree room, ducking slightly to pass through the doorway.

"Bah," Jolee retorted, "That's exactly the rotten attitude that's ruin this generation of Padawan's, all coddling and no tribulation. Why, when I was her age…"

"You ran around the Galaxy doing precisely as you pleased as well, I believe." Zhar mentioned serenely. "And if you are so concerned over the education of our Padawans, you should not be so quick to refuse my offer."

"Bah," the human repeated with less enthusiasm, "I'm too old to be changing a bunch of head strong youngling's diapers. Too old to be changing my own headstrong ways, too. My answer ain't changin'."

Zhar shook his head, remaining silent. The momentary pause was quickly filled by the confused Revan. "Excuse me, Master…Masters…but what _is_ _going on here_?"

Jolee looked slightly horrified and turned to the Padawan with a quick protest "_Master_? Now hold up there, missy, don't going throwing around insults at people you just met. Passing judgment before getting to know a persons character wasn't the Jedi way when I was at the Temple. I'm no kind of a Master, nor any kind of a Jedi, when it comes to that."

"But…" she was really starting to get confused now, "You're defiantly not a Sith…"

"There you go!" Jolee exclaimed, "That's more Jedi of you! Cut the world into nice, neat little pieces, and just ignore all the ones that don't quite fit."

"Jolee," Zhar cut in sternly, "Enough." The Master turned to the confused Padawan, smiling slightly at her distress. "Revan, this is Jolee Bindo. He was a Padawan at the Temple many," he glanced at Jolee, "many years ago. We have come to this planet in order to speak with him."

She appraised the not-Jedi not-Sith before her for a moment. "You're the suspicious activity?"

He laughed, "Ah, is that the code for crotchety old men now? My, the Masters have run out of creative terms since I left."

"Why did you leave?" she questioned.

Zhar spoke before whatever glib comment Jolee had prepared could be uttered as Malak groaned softy in his sleep, shifting on the too small table he was strewn across.

"It would seem this conversation is disturbing the healing sleep of my other Padawan." The Twi'lek Master gestured to the door, "Perhaps you should go gather some supplies for this evening's meal, Jolee. If you would take my more boisterous student with you, I am sure your conversation would be less disruptive to the surrounding flora and fauna than it is here."

"What is the Galaxy coming to," the human muttered even as he headed towards the door, "that a Jedi can just barge into an old man's house and start ordering him around. Not even cryptic like, either. I knew exactly what he was talking about. Proper Master would have left us puzzling for at least an hour over what he wanted."

"In such case, you would still be here rather than fulfilling my objective, " Zhar reminded him pleasantly. "Revan, I trust this trip will be far less exciting that this mornings activities."

Revan looked helplessly at her Master, silently begging not to be sent into the woods with a babbling, senile old man who would choose living in the middle of a swamp over the Temple. As Masters are know for doing, however, Zhar merely smiled at his Padawan's discomfort and wished her a safe journey.

Revan sighed and climbed off the bunk. Grabing her vibroblades from the pile of gear by the door, she headed out to trail after the already rambling old man ahead.

"Now," he resumed with relish once she had caught up, "as I was saying. Master Garsh was a bit of a loopy individual. Eccentric, we called him, because who calls a Master of the Force loopy to his face, eh? Anyway…"

* * *

This, Revan decided, was hell. Master Zhar had lied to her; this wasn't a mission she was privileged to accompany him on: this was where bad Padawans were sent to die. She and Jolee had only been walking for ten minutes, and she was sure if another ten passed in the same fashion she would be force to forsake the Light and put the crazy old man out of _her_ misery.

"…now," he rambled on as he led her, apparently at random, through the pathless wilderness of the Shadowlands, "that was back in the day that we had _real_ Sith running about, not these troubled teenagers you get today. Ho, boy, today's Sith would wet their frilly little princess dresses if they ever ran into one of the good old boys. Not that the Sith are _all_ bad, and not that you should be telling ol' Zhar I said that, they have their charming moments…"

"Do you ever _stop_?" Revan finally broke down and asked, discipline failing the girl as her famous temper finally got the best of her. "I mean, seriously, do you just sit in the tree storing up all these stories so that you can talk anyone who bothers you to death? Is _that_ the plan? 'Cause I have to tell you, it's working really well if it is."

"Well, well," Jolee remarked smugly, "I was wondering where that spunk went to. Was starting to think that blow to your head was the only thing making you interesting. Good to have you back, missy."

"You were doing that on purpose." She accused, sending an annoyed glare out of the corner of her eye.

"Of course. Best way to get to know a Jedi is to wear down that ridiculous wall of self-denial down."

"Self-denial?"

"I'm not that old little girl; I remember what I just said!"

"That wasn't what I meant! What do you mean self-denial? Jedi are supposed to have _endless _patience, you know. Comes from all the discipline and inner peace."

"Bah, that's just what they tell you young ones to get you to shut up and go play on someone else's lawn. Suppressing your feelings to the point even you don't know they're there isn't discipline, it's denial."

"My, I wonder why you never made it to being a Master." Reval drawled, rolling her eyes.

"If that's why I'm out living in this swamp you better take a good look around, kiddo. You're going to want to make yourself at home."

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Little lady like you who goes running around, killing poor animals and disrespecting her elders ain't exactly the image of inner peace and discipline."

"I am _full_ of inner peace!" She snapped, her face turning a deep shade of red at the amused look he gave her after that outburst.

"Oh, shut up."

"Might want to have someone take a look at those ears of yours, I didn't say a thing."

"You were looking at me in that tone."

"And just what tone might that be?"

"Never mind." She blew a frustrated breath out, ignoring Jolee's quiet chuckles at her expense.

"What do you have against the Jedi Code?" She asked at length, the nagging curiosity about one who claimed to be neither part of the Light or Dark side finally winning over her reluctance to start him talking again.

"Ain't got a thing against the Code, just against the ones who claim to know it."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, some rights are right no matter where the Jedi say it leads you to, and some wrongs are wrong no matter how much they may forgive it."

"I was wrong," she stated flatly, "with that kind of cryptic talent, you'd make a perfect Master."

"Ow, no need to be resorting to insults."

"Well, explain your explanation, then."

He laughed, finally coming to stop before some type of wooden, sentient built structure.

"I'll explain it to you when you're older. For now, just remember this: the Council ain't the Code, the Code's the Code. Too many people forget the difference. Now," he rubbed his hands together as he suddenly changed the topic, "be a good little Padawan and climb up that scaffolding there, what we're looking for's sitting on the platform at the top."

Revan sighed, accepting temporary defeat in the face of his ramblings. She grasped the bottom rung of the wooden platform, marveling for a second at the fact vines alone seemed to hold the over thirty foot structure together. Swinging herself up, the short Padawan quickly made her way to the top. Forgoing the scaffolding for her tip down, she grasped the package tightly against her chest and leapt down, landing perfectly on both feet next to Jolee. Moving the package away from her chest, Revan nudged one of the covering folds aside to gaze inside.

"Fruit?" she questioned upon looking inside. "Why is there a bundle of fruit sitting on a platform in the middle of the swamp?" She took a second look in the bundle as Jolee took it from her. "None of that looks like it's from around here, either."

"The young, always so quick to jump to outlandish conclusions. Of course the fruit is from Kashyyyk, it's just from the higher levels of the forest."

"What, from the Wookiee villages?"

"There you go, using your brain for once! These fruit were lowered down to me by those very loveable creatures."

Revan puzzled over this as they began walking back to the literal tree-house.

"Why would the wookiee's be sending you fruit baskets?"

"Well…" Jolee coughed uncomfortably, picking up the pace slightly.

"Well…?"

"The wookiee's seem to have gotten into their heads that I'm some kind of guardian spirit of the forest, sent to protect them when they venture too deep into the Shadowlands." He glanced at her sheepishly, obviously embarrassed by the misunderstanding.

Revan paused for a moment, walking silently as she digested that piece of information.

"That's going to be disappointing." She said at length.

"How's that?"

"When the wookiee's discover _you're_ their guardian spirit. Would be enough to turn most people off religion, I'd think."

Jolee sputtered for a moment. "Now, you listen here missy…" He was cut off by the loud laugh that erupted from Revan's throat, the Padawan actually clutching at her sides in pain as she walked from the intensity of it.

"Bah," he groused sometime later, "that's what you get from kids these days. No respect. If I treated a senior citizen like that when I was your age, not that such a thing would have ever crossed _my_ thoughts back then mind you, I wouldn't be getting off so easy, believe you me. Why, I remember this one time…"

Revan grinned as he renewed his babbling, happily bantering back and forth with the older Force user as they walked back to his home.

_The Council isn't the Code, huh?_

_A/N: I would like to credit the foundation of the vision Revan has to the dream Pilate and his wife have concerning Pilate's role in the death of Christ, and especially to how the event is portrayed in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. Any familiar with the musical may notice that certain lines of the vision were borrowed in an altered version (or in some cases, nearly verbatim) from the song 'Pilate's Dream.'_


	11. The Meaning of Fun

"_Revan embodied our philosophy, and showed us our own weaknesses_"

―Canderous Ordo

"Look," Revan snapped irritably, "it's not like I _asked_ you to jump down and save me, okay? So don't be thinking I'm going to act all nice-nice because you did something stupid."

"Fine, next time a pack of wild animals are charging at your unconscious form, I'll just wave and be on my way, how's _that._" Malak growled back, snatching one of the remaining fruits from the lump on the table.

"You do that!" Both released a frustrated sigh, turning away from each other to glare at separate innocent articles strewn about the room as the tense silence built.

Having decided his two Padawans had had more than enough adventure in the Shadowlands for one mission, Zhar had ordered them to remain in Jolee's carved tree-house while he and the rambling old man ventured out on their own to discuss…whatever Zhar had dragged them out to this savage world to discuss with the man. While Revan's first instinct was to avoid being trapped in any kind of small, boring space through any means necessary, especially one containing a recently awoken Malak, her survival instinct had overruled her rebellious nature, forcing her to remain in the shelter until the Master returned.

Having thoroughly examined the entirety of the lone room within a matter of minutes, the two strong-willed Padawans had quickly taken to their favorite, or at least most practiced, hobby of arguing over nothing. While Revan was resolved to do everything possible to keep her promise to see Operation: Get Along With Malak through for her kindly Master's sake, she had decided in a matter of moments after being confined with the frustrating male that the mission, at least for the present, would have to be implemented in stages. So far she was fully achieving stage one: Do Not Engage in Physical Conflict with Malak, and was underway of implementing stage two: Do Not Swear During Unavoidable Verbal Conflicts with Malak.

Stage two was becoming steadily more difficult to achieve as the two moved away from their normal topics of conflict to more recent, and actually important, events and thoughts regarding them. Malak's hint that she could show a little gratitude to him for saving her skin had _not_ been well received, resulting in the current higher than normal tension between them. Bickering and out right fights were the daily fair between the two, but Revan couldn't recall a time when they had before argued over something that came so close to actually mattering.

"I'm not asking you to say thank you or anything," Malak resumed after a few minutes of silence.

"I'd hope not," Revan had to swallow back an insult to adhere to stage two of the plan, "because you'd be holding your breath for an awful long time with that one."

"I know how much you love the sound of your own voice, but could you try listening to what someone else has to say for _five seconds_?"

"I _listen _to people all the time, just not _you._" The impatient glare he shot her way made her roll her eyes. "Fine, fine. I'm _listening_."

"How kind of you." Revan herself couldn't have dripped more sarcasm from that statement. "As I said, I'm not asking you to thank me. I'm just asking you to acknowledge that the whole fight did, in fact, happen."

"_Of course_ it happened….Malak," if she weren't so confused and annoyed at the moment, she would have cheered for herself at resisting the urge to insult him once more. "I was there, I know. Our robes certainly didn't get ripped up by some kind of poltergeist."

"Do you have to be so fracking stubborn all the time?"

She could feel a massive frown cross her face as Malak unknowingly broke the terms of her Operation. _Bastard._

"What?" He asked edgily, his face melting into wary confusion at her sudden shift.

"You swore at me."

"We swear at each other all the time." He countered, clearly beyond confusion at her accusatory tone.

"I haven't sworn at you once since you woke up."

"Of course you…" he paused, apparently going through the length of their conversation since he had regained consciousness nearly an hour ago. "Okay. So you haven't, for some reason, sworn at me once in this particular instance. So what?"

"It's part of our truce."

It brought her some small satisfaction that he nearly choked on the bite of fruit he had so foolishly taken before her reply.

"We have a _truce_? Since when?!"

"Since the night before we left the Temple," she informed him smugly. "I promised Master Zhar to get along with you better." There was no need for him to know the amount of guilt and unspoken threats of expulsion that had to go along with her making that promise.

"Not much for promising keeping, are you?" He replied flatly, eyeing her with no small amount of skepticism.

"Listen here you…you! We haven't pulled swords or a thrown punch at each other _once_ since I promised that and I, at least, have been refraining from using vulgar language since…well, since you woke up, but that is utterly _beside _the point."

"You think," he stated slowly, "that us not hitting each other and no swearing equals us getting along?"

"Well," she snapped annoyance, "I've considered the holding hands and frolicking through fields of flowers technique, but you just don't seem to find that many of those on Coruscant these days."

He looked at her for a moment, and then his lip started to twitch. She starred at him in guarded fascination as his shoulders hunched forward slightly, a hand coming up to cover his face. The concern she was starting to form was quickly squashed, however, as the older Padawan leaned forward, breaking into a roaring laugh that vibrated through her bones.

She glared at him indigently, for once at an utter loss of how to handle the bald teenager as the laughter slowly devolved into a quiet chuckle.

"You're right," he finally stated once he had regained his breath, "you're not crazy. You're just ridiculous."

"I am _not_." She snapped back, relieved to be falling into the familiar routine rather than the confusing spectacle of only moments before.

"Yes, you really are."

"No, I am _really_ not."

"Are we seriously having this argument?"

She snapped her mouth shut, crossing her arms across her chest as she struggled against falling into a proper pout at his still amused tone. It wasn't fair. Their fights had a very specific, agreed upon pattern. He did something that annoyed her, she irritated him until he snapped, and then they insulted, yelled, and out right fought each other until someone broke them up. It was simple, it was easy, and it was down right comforting after all these years of doing it. Him going off and only answering her annoyance and frustration with amusement was destroying the entire dance.

"Forget it." He said at length, shaking his head at her continued petulant silence.

"What?"

"The gratitude thing, just forget I said anything about it."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"You were in the right." She stated flatly, leaning forward on her stool as she spoke.

"_What?"_

"You heard me. You saved me. If you hadn't have come down, placing yourself into serious danger, I would have almost certainly died. Jedi can't demand thanks of anyone, of course, but they shouldn't ignore services others have done for them either. You are completely correct that a little gratitude for your personal sacrifice is in order. You were in the right."

He stared at her in amazement. "And you admit it?"

"I just did, didn't I? I mean, after all that it's pretty obvious that me denying I'm in your debt is just flat out wrong."

"Then why did you argue with me?"

"Because that's what we _do_ Malak. It's what we've always done, it's what I _enjoy _doing with you. No one else in the Temple has the strength to fight with me like you do. And now you had to come along and just…just surrender like some kind of beaten pup and ruin everything. And for what?" She looked at him expectantly, disappointment lacing every word out of her mouth as she lectured the boy.

He looked entirely uncertain now as he stepped slowly into the uncharted territory of having a serious conversation with her. Their discussion about the Jedi Code on the Temple steps had been a small sampling of the experience, but with no where to go to and no Master awaiting them now, the opportunity of extended interaction offered itself to them; so long as they could keep the conversation away from their normal dance of wits and angered words.

"I was just tired of fighting, I guess."

"Poor excuse." She stated, crossing her legs and leaning back to regard him. "Where's the fun in that? Where's the excitement?"

"You really enjoy our fights?"

"Don't you?"

"Jedi do not enjoy conflict."

"I'm sorry, you must have misheard me. I don't remember asking what you think the Jedi would say about it."

He sighed, looking away as he contemplated the answer. "Yes," he answered quietly a few moments later, "I do."

"Good!" she clapped her hands together in satisfaction at his admission, rubbing them together as she continued, "Glad to see we're on the same page."

"So," he wondered aloud, "does that mean you're not actually upset when we argue?"

"Of course I'm upset. You annoy me to the point of insanity. There isn't a single thing about you that hasn't, at some point or another, veritably driven me up a wall. That's half the fun."

Malak groaned, running a hand along his bald scalp as he shook his head at her.

"Revan?"

"Yes, Malak?"

"You're giving me a headache."

"Good to see I haven't lost my touch. With all that laughing at me going on I was starting to become concerned."

He let out a helpless chuckle and Revan grinned, mentally checking off step three of the Operation as she reached for the last piece of fruit. Come to Understanding Regarding Constant Fighting With Malak was a complete success.

* * *

The three Jedi left Kashyyyk several days later. Revan was half tempted to grouse over the fact the trip back to Coruscant would take longer than the visit had lasted, but the steadily increasing silent treatment Jolee displayed towards her Master made her hold her tongue. Though she had her strong suspicions it involved Zhar wishing to recruit him back into the Order, Revan was still not entirely sure what the purpose of their visit to the planet had been as Zhar and Jolee had made sure to have all their conversations well out of the ear shot of the curious Padawans. For all her skill, Revan had yet to master the trick of sneaking close enough to eavesdrop on a vigilant Jedi Master, and so her suspicions remained only that. Jolee as well, for all his rumblings of having no official Code or oath to the Force, possessed the uncanny ability of detecting whatever mischief Malak and she attempted, further thwarting any and all efforts made on thier behalf to investigate the matter. While Zhar and Jolee held their meetings, she and Malak were able to test their blades twice more against significantly smaller batches of animals, apparently most having learned to avoid the crotchety Force users territory, and had even seen a small hunting party of wookiees pass by not too far from the encampment. Revan found herself instantly fascinated by the pattern of growls and purrs that comprised the wookiee language and determined that she would master the understanding of the tongue before her next, eventual, visit to the world.

For the most part, however, the remainder of her time on Kashyyk was a verbally entertaining, due to her many bantering sessions with both Jolee and Malak, but otherwise crushingly boring event. So, while she wished she could have seen more of the planet, especially the upper levels which the wookiees inhabited, it was with only with a small amount of regret that she boarded the transport with Zhar and Malak. And it was with undisguised satisfaction that she accepted Zhar's praise as the loading doors sealed behind them.

"I am most pleased," the Twi'lek commented as he prepared the ship for take off, "at the behavior the both of you displayed for these part few weeks. I am certain that such a peaceful environment will persist once we return to the Temple, will it not Revan?"

"Oh, certainly Master." She replied, smirking at Malak. "At least as far as you'll be able to tell."

Their Master gave a gentle laugh at her words. "I am sure such comments are only in jest, my Padawan."

"As you say, Master."

A comfortable silence fell over the transport as Zhar piloted them away from the jungle plant and Malak and she went about tucking their few travel items into the safety of the ship's holds. When Zhar finally shifted the ship into hyperdrive, spinning the pilot chair around to face the open area of the transport, he was met with a peaceful sight. Malak shuffled items around in the small kitchen unit of the open area, preparing the prepackaged supplies that the three would dine upon, while Revan lounged across the padded bench spanning the right side of the area, several small items drifting lazily around her as she expended her excess energy on playing with the Force.

"While I am thankful," the Master began, his calm voice floating through the harmonious transport, "that such promising Padawans were granted the chance to experience a world as vibrant and educational as the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk, I must confess my small disappointment with the results of the mission's primary objective."

The shifting noises from the kitchen area stopped when Malak paused to give his Master a puzzled glance and the items floating near Revan rose several feet into the air to avoid bumping into the girls head as she sat upright.

"Master?" the dark hair girl ventured quizzically.

"While it is true the Shadowlands are indeed vast, considering how much time we spent searching the areas of indicated interest I find it quite clear that the Jedi Jolee Bindo is mostly certainly not residing on Kashyyyk." Zhar met Revan's eyes, the meaning of his initially odd sounding statements quickly becoming clear to her.

"But, Master…" Malak stated, not picking up on Zhar's implied meaning.

"What would have happened," Revan questioned, "if we had found this Jedi?"

"I would have tried my utmost to convince him to return to the Temple to complete his training. Had I failed in this venture, I imagine once I had reported back to the Council on his reluctance, many other Masters would be forced to go searching for him, disturbing the current residence of this Jedi until they had worn him down and he returned, or until he abandoned the world and slipped away from all those who knew him once more."

"Well," Revan commented, "perhaps it's best we found no such Jedi. From what I've heard of him, the vanishing into the mist option sounds far more likely."

"Indeed." Zhar replied, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied air.

"So we're going to lie to the Council?" Malak started bluntly, earning himself an annoyed glare from Revan and a knowing smile from Zhar.

"No," _again with the no insulting, must not insult_, "Malak. We would be lying had we found the _Jedi_ Bindo. The only thing I remember meeting down there wasn't a Jedi or a Sith. Seeing as it wasn't the _Jedi_ we were looking for, Master Zhar is sensibly telling us there's really no need to mention whatever else we may have stumbled across to the Council."

"So we're more…omitting certain truths?"

"Certain utterly _irrelevant_ facts, as far as the Council is concerned, yes."

Malak digested this information for a few moments, busying himself once more with the dinner preparations as he thought.

"So" he ventured after a while, "Does that mean, technically, that Revan and I defeated an entire pack of Katarn on our own?"

"What does that fight have to do with…?" Revan paused, her mind turning this over. If there was no Jedi on the surface, than certainly no Jedi could have come rushing to their rescue. And, as their robes and tarnished blades attested to, a battle certainly had happened. A battle they had obviously survived, and therefore had won. True, Zhar could still technically claim he had saved them, though that would be far closer to an outright lie than leaving the description of the battle simply as she and Malak had fought a pack of the animals and lived, the implication they won on their own the only ending presented to the Council. He eyes brightened, and she turned to stare at her Master once more.

"Does it?" She inquired.

Zhar smiled, his eyes laughing at the two Padawans enthusiasm over the topic. "I do believe that, given the circumstances, such an interpretation would certainly be adopted by the Council when I recount our time on the surface. Perhaps," he continued, "I also will present the idea of allowing the two of you to begin construction on your own lightsabers to the Council once we return. It would best for you both to be better prepared the next time self-defense is called for on a mission."

Malak's face brightened immediately and Revan released a joyful whoop, the items around her head spinning in wild abandon, as he finished his speech.

"Thank you Master!"

"You have earned it, my Padawans. You have earned it."

_A lightsaber…a silver lightsaber of my own. _Revan's celebratory mood dampened somewhat at the thought, and she spent a moment trying to figure out why the idea of possessing a silver saber seemed so frighteningly familiar to her. Her contemplations were cut short, however, as Malak starting speaking enthusiastically of the various types of crystals and upgrades available and she was drawn into the discussion of which ones would suit each of them best. By the time they settled down for the night, the pros and cons of each lightsaber component having being thoroughly covered by the three, the unpleasant déjà vu was completely gone from her mind.


	12. Living and Learning

_Love eventually leads to as much pain as it does happiness. - Jolee_

In the end, they did get their lightsaber's. Indeed, due to Revan's personal fighting style, they got three. The fact Zhar and the Council met for nearly two hours in the discussion of the topic led Revan to believe it hadn't been as easy a task as the serene Master made it appear, and it took very little imagination for the nearly sixteen year-old to figure out which Masters had been against the idea of giving the two notoriously aggressive Padawans weapons of actually power. She could practically see the vein throbbing in Vrooks temple at the idea.

Regardless of any objections, however, sabers they got. Ga'el had only shaken her head helplessly at her friends' enthusiasm over her two silver blades, one the traditional length of a saber and the other shorter for her off hand. Ga'el, along with the rest of the Temple's Padawans, watched in wry amusement as Revan's verbal arguments with Malak declined, and her tendency to pop out of no where to attempt to land a blow with her lightsabers on the male increased. While many Masters had strong words regarding this new found habit, Malak filed no formal complaints, and, in fact, indulged the girls surprise attacks with a glee of his own, his single blue blade always leaping to life in time to deflect the oncoming Padawan. Despite her new found addiction to the delightful _hiss_ the lightsabers made when they connected, Revan remained significantly less skilled than Malak in straight forward melee combat.

As a less antagonistic relationship between to develop between the two notoriously talented Jedi, it was with no small amount of annoyance that Revan was forced to admit Ga'el had been right. Though the relationship between Malak and she remained far from peaceful, the sheer amount of time and energy freed up by their new found truce was simply astounding. Even she had to admit, however, that the significantly more harmonious relationship between them was not due to efforts on their part alone. Master Zhar had stumbled upon a fact that had previously escaped the notice of the council: the antagonistic relationship between the two gifted Padawans was born just as much from boredom as their conflicting strong personalities. When the two were left to only their studies, at which they both rapidly excelled and easily mastered, and their own amusement, the two quickly picked up their old habit of finding challenge and consuming time through conflict with each other. Zhar's solution to the problem was simple: the Padawn's were not given the time to become bored.

The normally Temple bound Master suddenly found reason upon reason to accept missions off world. The two years following their trip to Kashyyyk were littered with journeys across the Republic space and beyond. Manaan, Dantoonie, Nar Shaddaa, various unnamed worlds along the Outer Rim, the three visited them all and more. Each world brought its own knowledge and experiences, and Revan's collection of languages grew rapidly as she encountered each new alien race and culture. Every trip also revealed to the two Padawans how respected and relied upon the Jedi order truly was in the Republic. During their stay on a planet the three were called upon to do anything from advise and oversee diplomatic treaties, to search for missing children, to simply giving a blessing to whatever small village they had stumbled across. Revan had known the Republic looked up to the Order. She had never realized it revered them.

When not off world, the two advanced students were put to work at not only advancing their own studies, but in educating the younger generation of Jedi Apprentices. Revan's particular combination of snark and charm made her introductory courses to using the Force a packed lecture hall, and Malak's superior weaponry techniques made him a sought after tutor for even Knights of the Order. Between the two charismatic Jedi, a moderate but exceedingly dedicated following of fellow students was starting to gather.

In her rare moments of free time in the Temple, however, Revan still liked to indulge in traditionally favored hobbies. And when an opportunity as perfect as this one presented itself, who could really blame her? She had sensed his weary movements into the gardens half-way through the class of younglings she was in the midst of instructing. Over the past several months the odd moments of understanding she and Malak occasionally experienced had begun to strengthen, the fledgling tendrils of what Zhar had identified as a force bond steadily growing between them as time flowed on. To Malak's growing dismay, Revan was quick to determine how to use the bond to keep constant tabs on the Padawan, and wasted no time in learning how to monitor his emotions to see which tactics of verbal assault were most affective.

The seventeen year-old sunk into a low crouch as she stalked behind the waist high shrubberies that decorated the garden of the Jedi Temple. With well practiced ease, she called her long saber from its resting place on her hip to her awaiting hand, not yet activating the device due to the low hum that would betray her position to the prey. Gliding silently along the outer edge of the garden, Revan grinned as she reached her goal, suddenly flying forward in a swift roll that covered half the distance between her and the prone figure. Coming up out of the position, she planted her right foot on the ground and sent her body soaring in an elegant flip through the air, activating her lightsaber as she landed close to the boy's head. Her saber flew downwards, ending the decent inches above the older human's throat.

"Swish," she gloated, deactivating her saber and clipping the metallic cylinder safety back on her belt, "you're dead, Sarevok."

"Funny," he groused from his reclined position on the ground, one eye cracking open, "I still hurt the same."

She rolled her eyes, plopping down to sit in a cross-legged position next to his head. "You didn't even _try_ to defend yourself. Where's the fun in that?"

"Revan, if I raise either of my arms I'm fairly certain they are going to fall off." Malak explained patiently, his only movement turning his read to regard the other Padawan. "Unlike you, the lessons I give actually require physical exertion, not thinking aggressively at inanimate objects."

"You know Sare, you're becoming very boring in your old age. I'll have you know there's a waiting line to become my new rival that could wrap around the Temple twice."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. And if you keep up with this shameful behavior, I'm going to be forced to seriously considering holding try outs for the role. I'm a very busy woman; I can't be sitting around waiting for you to _feel_ like fulfilling your contractual duties all day."

"I have contractual duties now, do I?" He questioned, obviously amused. He tested his former statement regarding his arms by carefully rolling over, shifting to half sit up by resting his chin in one palm as he regarded her.

"Naturally. This is serious business you know. People expect us to bring a certain level of thrill and flair to this Temple, which we can't very well do if you're simply napping all the time."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"I would appreciate it if you would. Now, are you done being a laze about?"

He chuckled helplessly then groaned as he shoved himself into a full sitting position, rolling his shoulders in the attempt to work out any kinks.

"Some help," he added after a moment, "certainly wouldn't be unappreciated."

"So you want me to heal you then wreak you up again? That doesn't make too much sense."

"Fine," he stated, starting to lean back to lie on the ground once more, "have it your way."

Revan laughed and extended a hand to place it on his shoulder. The day she had figured out the basics of the art of healing had been one of the happiest of her life, and probably one of the worst of Malak's. While she was, much to her chagrin, still no master of the complicated technique, she used her modest ability as an excuse to intensify their duels and Force battles, contending that so long as she healed them up enough before the Masters discovered what was going on they couldn't get in any more trouble than they would otherwise. She tried not to linger too long on the implications that she was far more talented at using the Force as a weapon than as a healing tool.

He released a content sigh as the Force flowed from her into his body, the soreness of his muscles evidently evaporating as she concentrated on the task. Once she had finished he swung one arm before him experimentally, then nodded with apparent satisfaction as it moved without protest.

"There," she chirped at him happily, unfolding her legs to gracefully rise to a standing position. "All better. Now," she drew her lightsabers out of her belt, falling into a defensive position, "ready?"

Malak only lay back down on the ground, smirking happily at her disappointed expression. Revan felt his smug amusement through the bond, and sent an annoyed wave of frustration through the connection as she clicked the lightsabers back in place.

"You used me." Revan accused.

"I omitted certain truths." He admitted.

"You're no fun."

"I fight all day, Revan. I spent this morning dueling lightsaber wielding advanced Padawans, and in less than an hour will be spending the afternoon teaching a bunch of bumbling younglings which end of a training blade to hold. Is it that hard to understand I'd like to spend my free time _not_ in combat?"

"I have seniority; you were fighting with me _first_." She countered, "I was hitting you with training blades before some of those kids were _born_"

He opened his mouth to counter then snapped it shut. Revan knew he couldn't argue that. They had been dueling and otherwise interacting for eight years now, so, quite literally, they had been fighting since before some of the six or seven year old younglings had even been conceived.

Rolling her eyes at his continued silence she returned to her seated position beside him, her legs stretched out before her.

"Why don't you go ask Ge'el to duel you?" he asked wearily.

"El's too busy saving kittens from trees or giving out hugs." Revan groused "Ever since she got her saber she's become an even _more_ perfect Jedi. I don't think she'd be very up for anything that doesn't involve meditating or reflection."

Malak laughed softly at her commentary and she turned to fully regard the man. He had his eyes closed, basking in what little light filtered through the smog filled air of Coruscant, a small smile gracing his face at the peaceful atmosphere around them. Contentment fairly radiated off of him, and she resigned herself to spending her one free hour in a day that had been filled with meditation by sitting calmly besides him. Though this was, she had to admit, far more peaceful than the constant instructions and monitoring of others thoughts that instructing her classes involved. She would never say it, but this may actually be more stress relieving than the fight she had come searching for.

A smile played on her lips as she leaned back, joining the other Padawan in laying on the grass, turning her head to maintain her view of his face. He turned his head at her movement, one ear now flat against the ground, small blades of grass covering his cheek as their eyes met.

_Brown. Brown eyes._

The tightness in her stomach that had started making itself known at odd moments when he was in her presence kicked up as she idly noted how close the two of them now were. The distance was short enough that she couldn't focus properly on his face, his eyes blurring slightly together, which was odd, considering she had just been noting the color of them, and she was quite certain she had been able to see both separately at that point…

Her hands clenched slightly into the grass beneath her at the feeling of his breath brushing against her lips as he spoke.

"You know," he whispered quietly, Revan's own breath becoming more shallow at the softness of his tone, "you're actually pretty ugly this close up."

She flew forwards to sit bold upright at his words, heat spreading down the back of her neck and up to the tip of her ears from the furious blush that over came her. She twisted violently around to glare down at the still grinning male.

"You…" she sputtered angrily, "You _jerk._"

She balled her fist and brought is down, slamming her hand into his unarmored stomach, the appendage burying itself into the soft shirt and flesh. He let out a pain 'umph' at the contact, air rushing out of his lungs as he curled up on his side, defending the vulnerable area from further assault.

"What was _that_ for?" He demanded upon refilling his lungs with precious air, glaring up at her now standing form.

She fumed down at him, her arms crossed angrily over her chest, the blush still coating her face and neck, spreading down far enough to disappear under the edge of her brown robes.

"You," she spat at the angrily confused man, "are a complete and total _idiot_."

She spun on her heal, marching agitatedly away from the bewildered Padawan, his hurt and confusion echoing through their shared bond and she disappeared into the Temple before her.

Master Zhar had done his best, but even two years later certain aspects of their relationship remained unchanged: Malak would always find new and creative ways to annoy her. She paused outside the door to the training room, resting her head against the smooth stone wall in an attempt to calm her swirling mind. She was hardly in a shape to instruct others on finding the inner peace necessary to commune with the Force. Any other Padawan would have been utterly unable to draw upon its power through such chaos, she was Revan, however, and so with only minimum effort was able to find the threads of Force around her, drawing upon them until the song filled her mind to shove the conflict of moments before to the dark recesses of consciousness.

For the rest of her class, however, she couldn't completely remove the lingering memory of brown eyes.

_A/N: I had a lot of difficulty writing this chapter. I'm not terribly experienced at writing romance and, having grown so comfortable writing them as rivals/friends, found making the transition to more very tricky to start. I don't want this story to last 40 chapters, however, so it's about time they started moving forward, both in terms of their relationship and in time. _

_I set up a forum if people want to ask questions or give more interactive feedback than commenting in reviews allows: __.net/myforums/littlegeekpenguin/1819927/_

_Of course reviews are __**highly**__ appreciated, but feel free to also put your constructive criticism in the forums if you want a more back and forth discussion on your ideas._


	13. Beginnings and Ends

_"Every choice we make, whether we know it or not, sends echoes through the Force. It can awaken feelings, ignite passions, hate, anger, fear - where none existed before." _- Atris

Time flowed relentlessly forward for the Padawan, the ever changing future gentling pausing in the present, then slipping off silently into the memories which were all that remained of the past. Days, then weeks passed since the few minutes Malak and she had lain in the grass, but the memory of that instant staid present in her mind for far longer than she thought was completely reasonable or appropriate. In addition, numerous other similar oddities had built up between them in that time, just simple things: a moment in sparring when he remained in contact with her just a bit longer than necessary, familiar smiles between them that were coated with some new meaning she had yet to quite grasp, and any number of other items that, to an outside observer, would seem innocent enough. But to Revan, who had interacted with Malak for so long, each item seemed glaringly out of place in their established routine. The worst part of it was, for all her confusion regarding the matter, he seemed to not only know what was occurring, but was indeed intentionally performing these odd actions.

Today, however, her preoccupation with the strange developments was put on indefinite hold as she watched miserably as her roommate shuffled through the few belongings the blonde girl possessed.

"But you can't go," Revan whined from her seat on her bunk, "you're my roommate."

"You will be fine having a room to yourself, Revan. Most Padawans our age do." Ga'el replied stoically, not turning from the task before her.

"It won't be the same." She was acting like a child, and she knew it. Ga'el had been offered what was, for her, the opportunity of a lifetime in the transfer to the Datooine Temple. But, that didn't mean Revan had to be happy about it.

"Revan," the green eyes Padawan continued, that annoying serenity never leaving her voice, "it is a great honor to be selected as the first Padawan a new Master of the Council will train, and not one to be refused simply because a certain Chosen One is afraid of the dark."

Revan rolled her eyes, "I am not afraid of the dark, El, I just…I'll miss you."

"And I will miss you." El replied, finally turning to regard the miserable looking teen before her. "However, the life of a Jedi is…"

"A life of sacrifice, I know." Revan cut in, not at all appeased by the cliché reply of the other girl.

"Yes, you know. But do you _understand_ is the question, Revan."

"Could you stop being such a Jedi for five minutes and just let me be upset you're leaving?"

"One cannot simply stop being a Jedi, Revan, it is a part of you."

"I am going to hurt you."

"It is perhaps a good thing I am leaving, in such case."

Revan sighed, falling into silence for a minute as she gathered her thoughts. "I don't see why you have to go to Datooine. There are plenty of Masters here who could teach you, I could talk any one of them into taking you on, if you wanted."

"That isn't the point, Revan. Master Atris is completely reconstructing the library of the Temple; it will be a wondrous time to be part of the academy. And besides…" she trailed off for a moment, turning to look at the sprawling city outside their window, "it will be nice to be back on a more peaceful world than this. There are times I find this constant throb quite…offensive."

"Atris," Revan scoffed from her bunk, "I've heard a thing or two about her: stuck up, self righteous schu…"

"Revan." El snapped, looking utterly displeased with the word that had nearly escaped her friend's mouth, "that is no way to speak of a Master."

"Doesn't make it any less true."

"Jealousy does not suit you, Revan."

"I just don't want you to go. I have this…this feeling." She admitted quietly. "Once you leave, things will never go back to the way they were."

Ga'el put the robe in her hands down, gliding across the room to sit next to Revan on the bed. The taller girl wrapped one arm around the sulking teen's waist, resting her head against Revan's shoulder.

"Time changes all things. The Force will see that everything will be as it should." Ga'el reassured her.

"Just because things are as they should be, doesn't mean we'll like how that is." Revan countered even as she leaned her head to rest on top of the other girls.

El laughed softly, squeezing Revan's waist gently, "We shall see, my friend. We shall see."

* * *

As only a young Padawan of the Order, Ga'el was not yet deemed ready to make the trip from Coruscant to the distant world of Datooine on her own. Traditionally, her soon to be former Master would be chosen to escort her to her future home. The timing of her transfer, however, coincided with the visit of Master Kavar to consult with the Coruscant Council regarding, as rumor had it, some reports of aggression filtering in from the Outer Rim. It was decided the best course of action would be to delay her departure from the Temple for the week or so of Mastar Kavar's stay, then for her to travel with the experienced Master to Datooine upon the completion of his business. Ga'el took the delay with her traditional serenity. Revan was ecstatic.

As with all apparent blessings from the Force, however, this one brought its turn of bad fortune as well. Only a day had passed since Kavar's arrival when the rumors originating from Malak's class of younglings reached Revans ears. Kavar had observed the class and had been instantly impressed by the progress Malak had made since they last met. Kavar had spoken to Zhar about taking Malak as his own Padawan to further his study of tactics and warfare, a skill few beyond the experienced Kavar were familiar with in the pacifistic order. Zhar had consented, provided Malak himself approved of the plan. Malak had not yet agreed, but neither had he refused. The majority of the student body agreed Malak would be a fool not to take the famous Master up on his offer and, in very short time, another rumor raged through the Temple: Revan was so furious Kavar had chosen Malak over her that she had refused to even see either the other Padawan or the Master in the six days since the offer had been made.

Revan had to give them credit for at least getting half of the rumor right. It was true she hadn't seen or spoken to Malak since the day Kavar had offered him a place at the Temple on Datooine, but that she had been avoiding Kavar himself was nonsense. As was the reason she had refused to see her…whatever Malak was to her. Friend, rival, enemy, she couldn't decide. As it had been since the beginning, he was simply her Malak. And now he was contemplating leaving her behind.

_How dare he._

The fact he had not immediately answered no to the proposal tore at her for some reason. It was a golden opportunity for the Padawan, but to take it, Malak would have to leave Coruscant, to leave _her_. And she hated it. She locked herself in her room, her foul mood and growing confusion at the roots of it making seeing others beyond unbearable. Now, despite her earlier excitement at Ga'el's delay, Revan found herself wishing more and more that El was off the planet. The disapproving glances and pitying sighs her roommate offered whenever Revan stubbornly kept the door locked against Malak's attempted entries were starting to wear on the slender girls nerves. Ga'el never lectured her on the behavior, never scolded, but as always with the empathetic Padawan, her silences said more than her words. Even Avri and Lae were managing to annoy Revan, a particularly difficult accomplishment for Lae considering he spoke only when pressed. The two male's attempts to spend the last few days available to them with Ga'el were often taken out of the room to avoid the dangerously irritable Padawan.

_Nothing is going right. First El, now Malak. Nothing, nothing, nothing!_

Revan had taken her angry sulk to the gardens that day. Ga'el required the room to complete the last of her packing for her departure the following morning, an event Avri and Lae had been steadfast in instating they would assist in. The happy atmosphere of discussing Ga'el's bright future on Datooine had succeeded in driving Revan out of the confined space, her feet taking her to one of the few spots she knew would be devoid of others this raining afternoon. She didn't mind the cold mist soaking through her robes; the gloomy weather suited her mood perfectly. Just over twenty four hours until Kavar left, and Malak had still not given his response.

Her raging self-pity would prove to be the downfall of her plan to avoid the other Padawan. The walls of emotion she had so firmly erected not only severely dampened her reception of the thoughts and feelings projected by others, but also served as a glowing beacon through the Force for those who were so inclined to find her, especially those who shared a bond with the pouting teen.

He was nearly on top of her location, therefore, by the time Revan picked up Malak's unmistakable presence through the Force. She got up quickly, hoping to avoid the confrontation by slipping behind the bushes before he could see her.

"Revan!" The muddied garden squelched under him as he jogged to her location, the light rain running rivers down his bald head to drip onto his already dampened robes.

"Leave me alone, Malak." _That's your plan anyway, isn't it?_ She stood firmly in place, her back to him. Now that she had been spotted she refused to give into the cowardly route of openly fleeing from him.

"No." His breath was slightly more rapid than normal from the short run across the garden, his robes now officially as soaked through as hers. "We need to talk."

"No, I really don't think we do."

"Why are you _doing_ this?"

"What. What am I doing to you." Though the sentence formed a question, her words only came out in bitten off growls at the man.

"This," he waved his hands in frustration, "this _this._ This avoiding me, not talking to me the one time I actually need to discuss something _important_ with you. This!"

"Alright, Malak. Here I am. Go on, _discuss_ with me." She spun around to face him, hands planted firmly on her hips.

"Why are you being like this."

"What do you want me to say, Malak, hm? Anyone with half a brain _knows_ you should accept Kavar's offer. Only an idiot wouldn't. You're a fighter; he's the most skilled Guardian in the Order. I know the Jedi simplify some things too much, but this is a very black and white situation here, with a very clear correct answer. So why are you wasting his and my time by running to me for advice when you _should_ have accepted the moment the question was out of his mouth!" Her fists were clenched fully at her side as she spat out her reply, the completely illogical pain gripping her at the thought of his departure dripping from her words.

_It isn't __**fair.**_

"Because," Malak replied, and Revan could feel his own anger building, the two of them practical locked in a shouting match now, "I already know the obvious answer; I don't need you to tell me that! I've been trying to find out what you think for the past week because I don't care about what's right, I care about what _you_ think. What you _want."_

"You are _such an idiot!_"

"Why?!"

"Because what I think doesn't _matter_. What I think is stupid, and baseless, and _wrong._"

"Why can't you just tell me!"

"Because I think you _can't_ go! You can't go with Kavar because he's there, and I'm here, and you belong with _me._"

_**To **__me._

She slapped a hand over her mouth, turning away from the wide eyed male as she attempted to get her ragged breathing under control. _Damn it, damn it, damn it!_

This was exactly the situation she'd been trying to avoid. If Malak wanted to leave her than he should _just go_, not stand around forcing her to confess all the dirty, jealous, unJedi like feelings that raged beneath the surface.

"Revan…"

"No, Malak just…just go. Go follow your destiny, and leave me alone to mine."

She started to walk away, self-loathing and hurt swirling inside her as she gave in to the base instinct to run as far away from the awful situation as possible, run far and hide in deep holes until Malak and Ga'el were gone and she could control herself enough to face her Master alone once more.

She cried out as a warm hand engulfed her upper arm, the larger appendage wrapping fully around her slender limb. His other arm shot forward before she had a chance to wriggle free, his superior fighting ability coming into play as he wrapped it around her waist, pulling the protesting form in a tight grapple against him. The increasingly intense rain fell freely into her face as the hand from her arm relocated, burying itself tightly into the hair at the base of her braid, forcing her to look up at the taller Padawan.

"I was so afraid," he whispered softly, making Revan wonder if she had heard the odd words correctly over the storm around them, "that you didn't understand."

The rapid flow of questions spinning in her mind at his words were cut off before they had the chance to take form as he lowered his face to hers, their lips smashing against each other in an inexperienced kiss, the dedication and affection and a world of other emotions flowing through their bond at the connection.

_Oh, _she marveled to herself, _that's what those moments were._ The series of puzzling events fell into place with a satisfying click in her mind, the long line of events building up on each other to create this final moment finally making themselves clear.

He pulled back slightly from her, shifting her weight in his arms to allow him to rest his forehead against hers.

"I won't leave you, Revan. I swear to you," he whispered, his breath mixing with the rain to flow over her still parted lips, "that until the day you die, I will never leave your side."

"Does this mean you won't go to Datooine?" She wondered stupidly, her thoughts suddenly refusing to flow together in the smooth manner she was accustomed to.

"No," he grinned, "I won't go to Datooine."

She surged forward then, pressing her mouth against his, their wide smiles getting in the way of the second kiss of both of their lives. Revan wrapped her arms around his neck, and laughed between their near frenzied kisses as he straightened up, lifting her feet clear off the ground until she wrapped them around his waist.

For anyone but them, in any place but the Jedi Temple, the sight of the young couple embracing in the rain would have been a heart warming scene. However, this was a Temple of the Jedi Order and they remained the two most talented Padwan's to grace it's halls in well over a century. The reaction their first moments together was not, therefore, received with well wishes and indulgent smiles.

"Revan." The dark haired girl's blood, which had been so happily pounding through her veins at the thrill and excitement of Malak's confessions, turned to ice at the sound of her name. Her head snapped up at the word, panicked blue eyes swiftly locking with devastated green.

Revan stared in shock at the blonde for several seconds, her mind wiped blank at the sudden appearance of the other girl. It wasn't until Ga'el turned to run away from them, her expression one of horror boarding on nausea, that Revan's sense came back to her. She swiftly attempted to untangle herself from Malak's powerful grasp, nearly falling to the ground as she broke free from the hold before fully unwrapping her legs from around him.

"Ga'el," she cried at the rapidly retreating form, "wait!"

She ran after her friend, leaving Malak standing alone in the rain, the bushes quickly blocking him from her view as she tore after her friend, fear racing through her veins at what the dedicated Padawan may do.


	14. Friends Never Say Goodbye

"_From the failure of the Masters, from our failure to properly train Jedi, came disaster. And I wondered, if perhaps, the teachings of the Jedi had been our failing all along … It is easy to cast blame, but it is perhaps time the Order accepted responsibility for their teachings, and their arrogance, and come to recognize that perhaps we are flawed. Not once did I hear one of the Council accept responsibility for Revan, for Exar Kun, for Ulic, for Malak…or for you"_ - Zez-Kai El to the Exile

Revan cursed all the times she had gone out of her way to privately tutor her blonde friend on the use of the Force as Ga'el raced before her at mind boggling speeds. Revan could still play the game better than the taller woman, however, and let herself fall deeper into the Force as she ran. The world around her become a dimly glowing blur as her speed increased beyond anything a normal human could possibly reach, only the slightly slower girl before her clearly visible in their haste. It was with no small relief that Revan realized they were sprinting not towards the Council Chamber or the Masters quarters, as she had feared, but back in the direction of their own shared dormitory.

She caught up to El an instant before the girl reached the door to their room, wrapping a hand around her friends upper arm in a smaller version of Malak's grip on her from only minutes before. Ga'el didn't meet her eyes as she tore her arm out of Revan's grasp and marched the last few feet to the door.

"Wait." The younger woman stated; the tone so completely devoid of emotion Revan found herself unable to do anything but obey. She had known Ga'el since the girls first year as a Jedi youngling, and she had never heard such a tone from the gentle woman before. The panicked rush of before finally leaving her, Revan was beginning to realize exactly how upset the blonde must be. Her stomach tied itself in knots as she watched Ga'el enter the combination, opening the door to reveal the oblivious faces of Avri and Lae.

"Oh!" Avri chirped, "You found her, good! We were just…" he trailed off, finally catching sight of Revan's sickly pale face and Ga'el's frighteningly emotionless expression.

"Leave." The normal pleasant Jedi commanded, stepping back to allow the two males to file out of the room.

Once they had left, Revan and Ga'el entered the room, the door locking the puzzled males out with a far more ominous _swish_ that Revan could ever recall hearing from it before. Revan stepped forward immediately, desperate to do something, anything, to end Ga'el's crushing disappointment in her.

"El, listen," she pleaded, placing a hand once more on the girls arm, "I…"

Her sentence was swiftly cut off as Ga'el stepped back from her, flinching away from the contact. An instant later her other had flew forward, striking Revan clear across the face in a resounding slap that sent the smaller woman staggering to the side.

Revan stared in wide eyed shock at the wall her head was now turned towards. Her hand came up quickly, touching the steady leak of blood now dripping from her nose and the corner of her mouth where the force of impact had caused her to bite into her cheek. She turned her head slowly to look at the other woman and was startled at the sight before her. Ga'el's eyes blazed at her, outrage covering every inch of the woman's face, her shoulders rising and falling visibly with her accelerated breathing.

"You're…" Revan wondered in a shocked whisper, "you're angry." In the near decade they had roomed together, Revan had seen Ga'el upset, frustrated, annoyed to the limit, but never once really, truly angry. The woman was the poster child for Jedi patience, forgiveness, and tolerance. The furious image before her caused Revan to shrink back, cowering before the blonde as she had never done with another leaving creature in her short life.

"I'm…I'm sorry, El. I'm sorry…." Revan didn't even know what specifically she was apologizing for, she just wanted it to stop, wanted the stranger before her to vanish, and the warm, comforting friend of only hours before to return.

"No, Revan." Ga'el stated coldly. "You are not sorry at all."

"Why are you so angry?" If she new exactly what about the situation was wrong, she could fix it. The look of disappointed disgust that passed over Ga'el's face was not what Revan had been hopping for.

"Why? _Why?_ You've broken the Code Revan! Not bent it. Not tested the boundaries to sate your own curiosity, you _broke it_. Right in the middle of the Temple Garden, for the world to see you spat upon the Jedi teachings, our _way of life_!"

"And now," the younger girl continued, a pain and anger bordering hysteria starting to peak through her words, "you stand in front of me as ask why I'm so _angry_? You are _falling_ Revan, and you are taking Malak with you! You cannot _do_ these things Revan! They are _forbidden._"

Revan stared wide eyed at the woman before her, her anxiety to placate her friend evaporating as the lecture finished, her normal temper rising to the surface at the words.

"Where? _Where_ in the Code does it say what we just did was wrong, that caring about someone else will end in the Dark side? _Where?!_"

"Do you really know _nothing_ of the Code, Revan?" Ga'el raged back, "Emotional attachments are forbidden to a Jedi! They have been for a thousand years; all such passions lead away from the Light!"

"So says the great and mighty Jedi Council!" Revan snarled back, the blood from her face dripping down onto the collar of her robes. "The Council is _not_ the Code, Ga'el! Just look at us, _look at you_! Isn't _this _an emotional attachment? Isn't the only reason you're here, yelling at me, rather than running straight to the Council because you _care?_ Are you destined for the Dark Side as well?! How is this _any _different than what exists between Sarevok and me!"

Ga'el staggered back as though she, too, had been slapped, staring at the shorter woman.

"You're right." She stated hollowly, the angering draining from her as Revan's words sunk in. "I have strayed from the path as well. I...I must avoid such errors in the future." She turned from Revan and the blue eyed girl felt the panic rise in her once more.

_No, no, no. This isn't what I meant to do, this wasn't what I __**wanted**_.

"Ga'el," she pleaded once more, "please, wait."

"No." The blonde raised one hand wearily, signaling the other woman to remain silent. "You _are_ right, Revan. All these years, even as I lectured you, even as I lamented the mistakes made by the Council regarding you, I fell into the same trap. I have indulged you Revan. I have overlooked your flaws and forgiven your mistakes without even wondering if you actually regretted them. I have failed you, and in doing so have failed myself. And now…now my mistakes have failed Malak as well."

She raised her gaze from her hands, looking at Revan once more. "And so it falls to me to make right the wrongs I have helped create."

"You can't tell the Council." Revan hated the begging tone that infected her voice, but could do nothing to remove it.

"No," Revan nearly collapsed at relief as the other Padawan agreed, "I cannot tell the Council. But I cannot continue to clean up after you either, Revan. You must face the consequences for the damage you create."

Revan's hearted plummeted into her stomach at Ga'el's next words:

"You will tell Malak to accept Kavar's offer and go to Datooine."

"No."

"It is the only way, Revan. That I do not go to the Council is my parting gift to mark the end of our attachment, but Malak cannot stay. I cannot knowingly permit the two of you to stray any further from the Code than you already have."

"This is _not_ the Code, Ga'el! You're asking me to choose between life as what the Council says a Jedi should be and life with those I care for based on nothing but the inane ruling of long dead fools!"

"I am asking you to chose between life as a Jedi or life as a Sith! This is our _Code_, this is our _Way_. You are a Jedi of the Order, Revan, but you have never had to give anything for it. You never left your parents; you have been indulged by all that have known you since your earliest hour. It is time you learned what it is to _sacrifice_ for your beliefs."

"So this is how it is." She stated, defeat settling over her in the face of Ga'el's conviction.

"This is how it is." Ga'el replied calmly, the typical peaceful aura around her starting to flicker through, colder now than Revan had even known it to be before. "You will tell him to go?"

Revan only nodded, avoiding looking at the blonde in anyway.

"I see." Ga'el turned to collect the few tightly packed bags neatly arranged along her bunk. "I think it would be best if I spent the night on board the transport."

Revan stood quietly, staring blankly at the wall before her as Ga'el gathered her belongings. Numbness had settled in around her, blocking the full impact of her current situation from settling on the slender woman. It wasn't until Ga'el turned to leave that she spoke again.

"We really aren't going to be friends anymore, are we El?"

"No," the blonde quietly agreed, "we really aren't." She swallowed painfully, a look of remorse crossing her expression as she turned back to Revan. "But, Revan, for everything you're done…for everything we've been, I promise you we will never be enemies. I can no longer stand so close by your side, but there will never come a day when I will stand against you. I…" she closed her mouth, whatever else she wanted to express hanging silently between them until she shifted her burden, turning her back on Revan for the final time.

"Good bye, El."

"Good bye, Revan."

The door closed silently behind her and Revan fell. Landing hard on her knees, her head falling forward to rest on the cool hardness of the cement floor, the woman wrapped her arms desperately around herself as the gut-wrenching sobs wracked her small form. Lightening flashed across the room and rain pounded on the window as, for the first time in her life, Revan felt her heart break.

_A/N: This chapter is a bit short, as I decided it would stand better alone that with the second half I had planned tagged on to it. To make up for it, here is an unnecessarily long Author's Note._

_As some have guessed, Ga'el is the future Exile. The Revan/Ga'el side story, along with furthering the main plot, is honestly here more to resolve something that irked me about the entire Revan/Exile story arch as presented in the games. It bothered me how it is never really explained, despite the fact that the Exile was obviously one of Revan's more important Generals, why the Exile neither helps the Republic in the fight against Revan, nor is hunted down and killed by either Revan or Malak at any point (Since I'm pretty sure letting betrayed former comrades who are intimately familiar with your tactical strategy live is listed as a no-no on the Evil Overlord List. I'd expect that kind of oversight from Malak, but Revan?). You may disagree with me, but I found the whole thing somewhat contrary to the personalities presented for the characters in the game, and this is my small attempt to give at least some initial justification for why neither of those events ever took place._

_It is also about time I gave some credit where credit is due. This story, and especially the next few chapters, would never have been written without the KOTOR II story guide done by Scorchy and found here at http://lparchive DOT org/LetsPlay/KOTOR%202/index DOT html Obviously, replace the DOTs with a '.' if you want to follow the link. I was having a hell of a time getting FFnet to let me post the link.  
_

_That run through made me wonder exactly what game I had been playing when I went through KOTOR II and made me really think of the life and events that led to the creation of Revan, Malak, and the Exile. I highly recommend reading through it, even parts of the game you're sure you know all of may turn out to have twists and turns you never noticed before._


	15. Becoming Who We Are

"_Is this your new Master, Exile? If so, then you follow Revan's path. Her teachings will cause you to fall as surely as she did._" - Vrook to the Exile

There was a pounding as the door. _Hm, I've never lain in this spot before. _Once her grief and anger had played itself out, the red eyed Padawan found herself sprawled out on her back on the floor where she had fallen, her normally tight braid having slipped apart during the events of the night, allowing long strands of black hair to flow beneath her. The shockwave of the powerful emotions had passed, leaving a hollow emptiness behind, accounting for the idle thoughts now meandering through her numbed mind.

It really was a bit of an oddity, she decided, that despite the fact she had resided in this room since she had been given a roommate nearly a decade ago, she was positive she had never lain in exactly this spot on the floor, gazing at that specific patch of ceiling. _Guess there's always a new point of view to be found._

The pounding came at the door again, and Revan knew she should answer it. Malak, she knew through the Force is was him, had been anxiously knocking every five minutes since the emotional storm had passed, pleading with her to let him in both with the muffled words she could hear from the hall, and through the ever present bond between them. She really should answer it. If nothing else, she had to tell him to go pack for his journey tomorrow. Going to Datooine would not be like the trips with Master Zhar, he would need more than a simple traveling pack prepared for the months or possibly years he could be residing on the rural world. After the torrent of emotions she had just passed through, these thoughts delivered only a soft prick of pain that filtered in slowly to the consciousness of the weary woman.

The pounding wasn't stopping. It had been nearly two hours since Ga'el had left the room; Revan supposed it made sense Malak would be growing impatient. If she were capable of such thoughts, she was sure she'd be impressed by the amount of self-control the older Padawan was showing. Revan would have torn through the door with the Force by now, the wrath of the Council be damned. Wearily, an odd disconnect between her mind and her body causing her to move similarly to a rag doll, Revan slowly pulled herself into a sitting position, then placed a heavy hand on the bed to force herself into the far more difficult standing position.

It was with no small effort that the woman made it to the doorway. A world-weary sigh passed her lips as she paused, attempting for a moment to figure out exactly what she would say to the anxious male waiting on the other side of the metal door. For once in her life, nothing came to her. There was, she admitted, really nothing to be said other than the obvious: Malak must go with Kavar. She raised a hand, placing it gently against the sensor that caused the door to split down the middle, each side vanishing momentarily into the doorframe to allow the tall man in, then flying back out again to meet and seal the room shut with a quiet _swish_.

For a moment Revan feared there would be a silence between then, an awkwardness bred from the sudden and rapid shifts in situation and meaning between them. She should have known by now, however, that tact and hesitation were never issues Malak wrestled with. As always, the older Padawan charged into the situation head first, headless of the wisdom of his actions or repercussions they may bring, and wrapped one arm around her, pulling the small form against his larger frame.

"What happened?" He demanded, his words muffled by her hair as he buried his face into it.

"Nothing. And everything." She sighed against his shoulder, the numbness within persisting despite his proximity.

"Revan?" He questioned, pulling back from her to look into her blood-shot eyes.

Her words came out idly, the majority of her thoughts occupied by the sudden absence of the nice warm, shoulder she had been enjoying leaning against. "You need to go to Datooine."

"What?" His look of shocked hurt did manage to penetrate her hollow state somewhat, her heart clenching for an instant as she felt his pain through the bond. "Weren't you just celebrating that I was staying? What did Ga'el do to you?" His words dripped with unspoken accusations towards her frie…former friend.

"Ga'el made me look at things another way." She sighed softly. In the two hours since the blonde had departed the room and, possibly, Revan's life, she had had time to consider what the serious Padawan had meant.

_Sacrifice._

Yes, a sacrifice had to be made. Simply not the one, and certainly not for the reasons, Ga'el had intended.

"You need to go with Kavar, Sarevok, because I need you to wait for me. As I need to wait for you." She attempted a soft smile at him, managing only a slight upturn of one corner of her mouth.

"I don't understand what you mean, you're right here, I'm right here." Frustration was starting to tinge his voice. This was not, Revan understood, what he had imagined life after the acknowledgement of their feelings would be like.

"What are we, Sare? Padawans, bound hand and foot to our Masters. How long do you think we can be right here? A week, perhaps an entire month, before we are discovered? And what then?"

"I don't care."

"I know," she laughed humorlessly, "I know. But I do." She held a hand to stop him from interrupting again. "And not because of that. I do not care what the Council thinks of me. Of us. I care that I know, as you do as well, the moment we are discovered we will never see each other alone, if even at all, again. They will forgive us our childish ways, of course, but in the end we will be separated and changed until we too believe that the bond between us is a doorway to the Dark Side. The Councils has never tested this limit, so they do not understand it, and so they will turn us against it."

He swallowed harshly, doubt showing on his face "And how will me going away from you with Kavar change anything, except we will be separated earlier than if I stayed."

"Because no one will know. You will have made the choice that is best for what they see as your future, and my actions will be dismissed as nothing more than my typical petulance, roused because my rival was chosen over me. And then," she licked her lips, the hollow feeling inside fading as she faced the path before them, "we will prove ourselves to this Council. One day, we will be Knights. And so, we will be free. And on that day, when Masters no longer breathe down our necks or watch our every gesture, we can be here, together, once more."

His hands fell from her and he stepped away to pace agitatedly before the rear window, his face a mask of conflicted emotion.

"I don't like it," he snapped.

"It would hardly be a sacrifice if you did."

He looked at her questioningly.

"Never mind," she stated quickly.

He sighed, running a hand over his bald scalp. "Is there really no other way?"

"Not unless you wish to directly defy the Council." He flinched at her words. Malak had been quite thoroughly infected by Revan's radical views of the Code and the Order during the past few years. However, no matter how much he agreed with her, Revan knew he would never be quite like her. Though the idea of such defiance turned her stomach as well, she knew it affected Malak far more strongly than her. While Revan would loath to stand before the Council and face their judgment, Malak would not be able to withstand such an ordeal.

"I'll go to Datooine." He agreed at length, sitting heavily on her bunk as he admitted defeat, as she knew he would. She had already determined since Ga'el's departure there simply was no other way.

Revan felt some small emotion bordering on relief that she had not been forced to reveal the contents of her confrontation with Ga'el to him. She knew beyond doubt that Malak would not be able to peacefully coexist with the woman on such a small world as Datooine if he knew the full truth behind their encounter. It would be best for them all if the incident lived only in the memory of the two involved.

Revan followed him to the bunk, lying down on top of the covers so her head rested in his lap.

"It will work," she promised quietly, "it will."

"I hope you're right." He replied, stroking her hair gently.

They lapsed into silence, each lost in their own thoughts on the matter, until Revan's weariness overcame her and she slipped into silent slumber.

When she awoke later in the night, she was once more alone.

* * *

Revan did not go to see the departing Jedi off. She didn't trust either herself or Malak well enough to bid him farewell before half of the Temple, as most of the Masters and all of Malak's students and friends had turned out to see him go. She also had little to no faith that she could see Ga'el walking away once more without some kind of powerful emotional reaction. She took shelter, therefore, in the still circulating rumor that she was green with envy at Malak's selection over her, and hid in the Room of a Thousand Fountains while the three left the Temple.

The peaceful atmosphere the flow of the fountains created was undeniable, even for the emotionally ravaged Revan. She sat quietly on the edge of one fountain near the center of the room, gently tracing patterns in the rippling water below with the finger tips of one hand.

"I sense you are troubled, my child."

Revan started at the cold voice that suddenly flowed from behind her, standing quickly and spinning to face its source.

"Master Kae." She stated in surprise, falling quickly into a small respectful bow before the hooded Master.

Since Revan had first known her former Master, Kae had always had the disturbing talent of being able to walk unnoticed anywhere in the Temple. Even as Revan focused on the figure before her, she found it near impossible to sense her presence through the Force. The Force seemed to flow more around the Master than through her, leaving a small hole where she stood. For one as talented and depended upon the Force as Revan, the Master had always been a source of both wonder and unease.

Though she could not see her eyes, Revan knew Kae was observing her, waiting for her to answer to question hidden within her initial statement.

"I find I am faced with many questions, Master." Revan admitted.

"Ones your current Master cannot answer for you." Where others would question, Kae only stated. Revan had been drawn to the confident Master since her earliest days, but had been dismissed without explanation after only serving for less than a year as her Padawan.

"No, Master. They are…not questions one would ask of a Master of the Council."

The much older woman's thin lips rose slightly to form a knowing smile. "Ah, then you have finally discovered the questions worthy of being asked."

"Yes, Master."

"Such answers are not to be easily found, if indeed they exist at all." She paused, appraising the Padawan before her silently. "You have grown well in my absence, Revan. I had feared you may have been lost to me under the guidance of ones such as those you sought out in my place."

"Then why did you release me?" Revan asked, the troubles of the day momentarily leaving her mind at the opportunity to discover the reason.

"Because you were not yet ready. You listened, but you did not hear. My teachings are not like those of other Masters, they cannot simply be learned. They must be understood. You were too young to fully see the Jedi, and so not prepared to know of their history. But the past has taught you much. Already I see the scars of knowledge of this Order, of the true nature of the Jedi, marked upon your soul."

"Zhar has lost one of his Padawan's this day." Kae stated, forcing Revan to blink at the sudden shift of topic. _Scars on my soul?_

"Malak has left to train under Kavar, yes." Revan agreed, trying to figure out where the conversation was now leading.

"Then it would seem he has nothing left to teach."

"I…" she started to protest, still attempting to regain her footing in dealing with the enigmatic Master. During her time as a Padawan under her, Revan had never mastered the technique of conversing with the cryptic woman. Now, older and more firmly grounded into her own beliefs, Revan was beginning to be able to follow the flow and meaning of the conversation. "It would seem so, Master."

"In such case, your education shall begin today, my Padawan."

"As you wish, Master." Revan replied, bowing shallowly once more before following her returned Master as Kae turned and walked from the room towards her own private domain of the Jedi Achieves. They twisted silently through the Temple, Revan remaining a half step behind her Master, as she had been trained to do in her earliest days.

The Achieves of the Order seemed to exist in a world outside the rest of the Temple. Millennia's worth of information and knowledge sat inside the stone walls of the Achieves, demanding protection from any forces that may seek to harm the structure.

Rather than spiraling into the sky, as most constructions of the Temple, this building was instead dug deeply into the ground. No natural light penetrated into this tomb of knowledge, the heavily guarded solid stone doors cutting off any stray beams of light long before they had the chance to fall upon the items stored within.

The sentries outside the door gazed in disapproval as Revan approached. Beyond the normal histories and memoirs left by past Masters of the Order, the building was home to many holicrons and recordings of the Sith, making the area off limits to all but the most trusted of Padawans, lest the wrong information be exposed to a still weak mind. The guards remained to the side, however, not hindering their progress as Master Kae guided her through the entrance hall and to the black marble staircase which would lead them down to the heart of the Archives. The Master walked down the first few steps, and then paused to regard her returned Padawan as Revan hesitated for a moment at the top of the flight.

A feeling passed over Revan, one stronger than she had experienced since that day on Kashyyyk when Malak had spoken to her. For an instant no stairway stood before her, no Master awaited her movement. Only the solid black stone of some unknown doorway presented itself to Revan. The stale air of the sealed chambers was replaced by the sweet smell of a fresh breeze, scented by the tall grass and trees. Again, words formed in her mind without the use of her ears:

"_If we pass beyond this door, we can never go back. The Order will surely banish us._"

She snapped back to the present as Master Kae made a small noise of disapproval before her.

"There is much for you to learn, and, I now see, much damage which must be undone before you are prepared to understand what I shall teach." Kae turned from her once more, resuming her decent into the bowels of the building.

Revan hesitated a second longer, glancing over her shoulder towards the light of the world outside. She turned back to the stairs before her and, without a second backwards glance, took her first steps into the awaiting darkness.

_A/N: The next chapter may be a bit slow to come out, or may be in a different format than what has been seen previously. Kae is very tricky person to write for, and it may take a few attempts at writting her and Reven's intereactions before I feel I have it right. Thanks so much to everyone who has followed the story this far, and especially to those who have been giving me your feedback and reviews._


	16. Transmissions

_Revan,_

_The idea of quiet country living is a lie. The noise and rumbles of Coruscant have nothing, absolutely nothing, on the insects and animals of Datooine. I have not been able to hear myself think since the moment I stepped off the transport, let alone sleep. I could stand it if it was only a day time phenomena, but it's worse at night. Does the Code at any point explicitly forbid burning large areas of grassland so a Jedi can actually meditate? You know more about all the loopholes than I do._

_Sarevok Malak_

_Sarevok _

_The Code does not explicitly forbid random acts of arson, though I'm fairly sure there is an implicit understanding that wholesale destruction, even if it is for the greater good of the Order, is generally frowned upon. You are training to be a Guardian, however, so you may be playing by a different rule book than us poor, ignorant Sentinels. For all I know the cleansing power of fire may be the first tactic a Guardian of the Order is intended to resort to. You should ask Kavar. Make sure to do it in front of a recording device. For, you know, no reason in particular._

_Revan_

_Revan,_

_Next time you're trying to talk someone into doing something blatantly idiotic, you might want to leave the recording device out of it. It tends to gives away the fact you have some kind of ulterior motive. I can see you smiling and, yes, I do mean you. Don't even attempt to play innocent. That only works on Masters who have known you for less than a standard hour._

_I am getting used to the insects, thank you for your concern. Yes, I am being sarcastic. Yes, explaining the sarcasm defeats the point of using it. I know. I don't want to hear about it._

_Ga'el seems a bit off. I had bigger concerns during the trip, but now that we landed she seems to have gotten older or something from how I remember her on Coruscant. Did you say something to her that night? Even Kavar has mentioned how solemn she seems for a sixteen year old, I think he is going to talk to Master Atris about her._

_Malak_

_Sarevok_

_Don't worry about Ga'el and don't ask me about it. It's a girl thing. Just keep a bit of an eye on her for me, hm? She does tend to get the strangest ideas into her head. And yes, to take a page out of your book and respond to things you have not said yet, I know that contradicts the don't worry about her order. So I am not always consistent. You knew that already, get over it._

_Kavar is looking into her though. That is interesting. I heard a rumor once about him you know. How his experience on the battle field isn't the only way he has strayed from the Code. That would be a situation more interesting and entertaining than you could possibly understand. You will have to tell me how Atris reacts to him poking his nose into her business._

_Revan_

_Revan,_

_I'm surprised you didn't hear Atris's reaction to Kavar all the way on Coruscant. That woman handles criticism about as well as you. I think some of the younglings are still crying from the terrifying sound of her echoing voice through the Temple halls. Apparently this isn't the first time Kavar has interfered with her teaching techniques, and by the Force she can hold a grudge. Kavar seems unaffected, though. He invited Ga'el to spar with us when she was done in the Archives. She refused, but I think he will try again later._

_I wouldn't believe everything you hear, especially about Kavar. If it weren't for the fact being here means I can't be there, I don't think I could ask for a more ideal situation. Zhar was a good mentor in the general areas of being a Jedi, but Kavar is the first I've met that can actually defeat me in combat. Easily, too. He knows what moves I'm going to make before I do them. It's going to take a lot of training before I can defeat him._

_How is Zhar, anyway? Mourning my loss, or celebrating his freedom?_

_Malak_

_Sarevok_

_Trust me, Sare, since you don't seem to know it, everyone knows exactly what moves you're going to make before you do them. You charge in to every move like a rabid boma. The problem is trying to stop the attack; you're not exactly a light hitter. Then there's the problem of landing an attack on you that actually means something. We could all win against you if you didn't just shrug off every hit like we were using blades grass instead of lightsabers. Freak._

_I haven't really seen Zhar since you left. Master Kae invited me back to be her Padawan and how could I resist? She hasn't trained anyone in absolutely ages, excluding our previous failed attempt. It's weird spending every day and night in the Archives, especially when I think about how Ga'el must be doing the same thing over there. Though, I seriously doubt Atris the banshee is teaching her the same things I'm learning. There's an entire side to the past of the Galaxy no one else seems to care about. Once I figure out just what that side is, I'll explain it to you._

_Revan_

_Revan,_

_If I am a freak, I'm afraid to think of what that makes you. Think about it._

_So Kae took you back. That's a surprise. I thought she practically threw you at Dorak once you managed to annoy her past the point of all tolerance and reason. That is, I mean, when she had taught you enough. I wonder if Zhar spoke with her about it? _

_You should come to Datooine some day, I've met your successor. Master Vandar has just taken a new Padawan from the class of Apprentices; I believe her name is Shan. The Council seems to think there's something special about her. Not that you have too much to worry about. Every time they mention her talents, it is always with yours as a reference. 'Ah, Padawan Shan, your ability to levitate that chair is nearly as strong as what Padawan Revan could do when she was just a little younger than you.' They're going to give the kid a complex. She also lacks your enticing personality. I think she has taken a bit of a liking to Ga'el, they both have that air of the serious Jedi around them. I see them meditating together from time to time. If your friend has taken an interest in her, she may be a bit more like you than I think._

_Malak_

_Sarevok_

_I'm starting to worry a bit about you and Ga'el. You can't seem to go a transmission without mentioning her. Should I start shopping around for a new rival? I was serious that day: there are people waiting in line for the opportunity._

_Shan, hm? Sounds like someone I'll have to meet. I can't be allowing exceptionally talented young Padwans to be running about uncorrupted, now can I? Besides, if she manages to be almost as talented as me without the behavior problems, it's going to severely damage my reputation. Masters may stop dismissing my actions as childish antics if there is actually some kind of standard to measure me against. I think there's only room for one Chosen One in this Order._

_How is darling Kavar, hm?_

_Revan_

_Rev,_

_There is certainly only room for one of you in any given Galaxy. Anymore than that and I don't think sentient life could long survive. Thankfully for intelligent life everywhere, Shan is certainly no you. She's good, very good, but she has no confidence in herself. I think the Council is trying the polar opposite approach to how they raise you and hoping it turns out better. If she keeps going the way she is now, I think we'll have another Master Atris running about. Or worse, another Vrook._

_I'm not going to even try to answer what you said about Ga'el. I'll only get myself into more trouble, so here: you win. I'll stop mentioning her. Now let's never speak of it again._

_Kavar is still an excellent teacher. Otherwise he has been acting a bit strange. He is leaving in a few weeks for his second scouting trip to the Outer Rim. He seems convinced something strange is starting to happen out there. He won't mention what it is, but for someone as strong as him to be concerned it must be serious. He says he needs to go alone on this mission, but I am going to do everything I can to be taken on the one after it. If he finds anything worth finding, there will defiantly be another._

_Malak_

_My Darling Sarevok,_

_Of course I win. It is beyond comprehension that it should work out any other way. You know this. I can't even begin to imagine why you think it was even necessary to state such an obvious fact of life. However, the truth is the truth, so I will not stop you from saying it if you truly wish._

_Something strange really is happen on the rim, then. I don't hear as much gossip as I used to, Master Kae and the Achieves take up far too much of my time for me to waste it listening to the nonsense the other students go on about. I did hear from one of the Knights who visited the Archive that there had been an attack, however. He didn't say who or when, but apparently there were very few survivors to tell of what had attacked them. He said he figures it is just another territory dispute out there, one world trying to take over its neighbors in the solar system. It seems a little strange to me to completely decimate the population in that case, however. Wouldn't you want people left to tend the resources for you? I don't know, maybe it was an expansionist effort. Tell me if you hear anymore._

_Revan_

_Revan,_

_Master Kavar has left. As soon as he comes back I'll write you with whatever information I find out. No one seems to know precisely what is happening, but the Masters do not seem too concerned yet. Master Atris claims if it were a Sith threat we would be able to sense it by now, but I have trouble seeing how that makes any difference. Non-Force users can slaughter a planet just as easily as any Sith fleet. I guess fighting against normal sentients rather than other Force users would be simpler, so I can see the positive distinction in that. _

_With Kavar gone I've been left with quite a bit of free time. I train with the other Masters every now and then, but mostly I teach the younglings along with she who I will not mention, then wander around the Temple. I found something I think you'll be very interested in just off the Temple grounds. The Masters had told me about it but I didn't realize its full potential until I saw it myself. All the more reason for you to convince Kae to let you visit Datooine._

_I know you probably think it unwise, but for my sake at least consider it._

_Malak_

_Revan,_

_It's been nearly two months since my last transmission. Are you alright?_

_Kavar has returned. The news is what he feared: someone outside the Republic attacked those worlds. We don't know anything else yet, but he and Vrook will be leaving again at the end of the month to investigate further. I will be traveling with them._

_I would like to hear from you again before we depart._

_Malak_


	17. Flawed Teachings

"_Jedi are not supposed to be like the rest of us. They are supposed to see a higher purpose in all things. And they are supposed to train students responsibly and well, so mistakes of the past are not repeated. Yet all I saw was ignorance and arrogance, and what those seeds created in the Republic. It is difficult to follow the Jedi Code, when so few others have."_ – Mical

Revan was learning a great deal shifting through the many records of times past with her Master. As she read, Kae was ever by her side, explaining context and presenting records she herself had found outside of the Temple walls, information left behind not by any servant of the Order and, therefore, information most often dismissed by those who researched within the Archives.

Master Kae's teachings tended to fall into several general categories, all of which Revan found at least slightly distressing.

For instance, the Jedi Order does not always have the answer. This was something Revan had known for years. She was no starry eyed idealist who regarded the Masters as gods in mortal flesh, of course there would be times the Jedi did not know which path of many was the correct one to take. She had expected history to be strewn with incidents of Masters leading the Republic astray, or the Order lamenting the errors made in any one of hundreds of Padawan's and Knight's who had gone on to defect to the Sith. She was quick to discover, however, how few of these incidents the Jedi records showed. This in itself did not bother her. It was what she learned the Order filled their history with instead that she found troublesome.

For instance, she found the Jedi are notorious for omitting aspects of the truth. Or, at least, they are to anyone in the Galaxy who took the time to dig through the layers of cryptic answers and strategic recollection the Order had become skilled at presenting in order to discover this fact. Even most Masters, Revan was seriously beginning to suspect, didn't have the slightest idea just how much the Order had, as a collective, skimmed over, left out, or altered past to point of recognition. Even more frightening was most Masters took an active part in this selective view of the Galaxy everyday without ever consciously realizing what they were doing.

This was not entirely the fault of the Masters. Well, technically it was as any form of ignorance is the fault of the ignorant for not attempting to discover knowledge. This too, however, could be traced back as being the fault of previous Masters of the Order. For instance, in her favorite example of glaring omissions, mostly because it gave her a large sense of vindication, were the many extrapolations and extensions taught along side the Jedi Code. The Masters of generations past had left them a Code. A very simply Code, which the successive generations of Masters had devoted their lives to reflecting on, developing, and teaching, adding their own bias and beliefs to the lessons. The lessons handed down by these Masters were then taught for so long and by so many that they simply because synonymous with the Code. No one bothered to mention, and so most never learn, that very few, if any, of the standards and ideals modern Jedi simply accepted as part of their way of life were never part of the original Jedi Order. So many theories and hypothesis of Masters from long ago were now simply taken as Dogma, rather than the guidelines that had been intended. And so, generation upon generation of Masters learned this Dogma, passing it on in turn, and never knew the omitted and now near forgotten truth of its history. And so they were ignorant.

That lesson that bothered Revan somewhat.

Jedi also, when omitting the truth would not produce satisfying enough results, lie. In fact, they lied consistently throughout history, even to themselves. Shifting through ages of history and information, Revan would have an easier time listing the events recorded by the Jedi that were** not** somehow conflicted by other material than she would listing the many events that were. As with the omissions, these lies were told so often and so many that they eventually became their own truth, recalled by all but those who read between the lines as the correct interpretation of the past.

This bothered Revan a bit more.

The only lesson that truly disturbed her, however, was the utter lack of self-cognizance the Order displayed during any point of history and, she was quickly realizing, during the modern day. The omissions and lies which drenched the recorded history of the Order was not all simply oversight. At some points Masters had consciously decided to alter recollected history to hide the many, many times the actions of the Council stood in direct violation of the Code itself. It was as if it was demanded of the Jedi to be perfect, all knowing, and omnipotent, and the Jedi would do anything required of them to create the illusion that they lived up to this impossible goal. In the Archives of the Jedi Order there was no remorse. All actions that had ever been or would ever be taken by the Order were perfect, all decisions correct, and all judgments righteous.

And anything imperfect was given to the Sith. Even Masters that had been trained in the Jedi Order, who had served on the Council for decades, the second that Master fell to the Dark Side it was if the Order had had no part it that life. There was not flaw in the Order that could not be hidden away by shifting the blame to evil hearts and the teachings of the Sith. Any battle lost, and wrong turn taken was because the Sith had touched it. The Order was irreproachable, and the Sith irredeemable.

This bothered her most of all.

It was not that Revan believed the Sith to be some misunderstood entity, a philosophy who's only guilt was to be selected as the Jedi's scapegoat. She watched the holocrons and she read the words left by the Former Sith Lords, both those publicly kept as a warning to the Jedi and those hidden by Master Kae as part of her private collection. It was abundantly clear the emphasis the Sith placed on the destruction of compassion and the strength found through the conquest of others. Unlike the Order, the Sith had no issue in displaying their true selves to the Galaxy at large, seeming to relish in the condemnation their ideology brought. No, Revan held no illusions when it came to the Sith.

However, she didn't know how to feel about the fact she found herself genuinely appreciating their honesty over the self-deception and omissions of the Order.

"I don't understand." Revan stated one day, just over a year after returning to study under her old Master. Or, at least, Revan believed it to be day. Time did not seem to exist in the windowless Archives. More than once Revan had wandered from the darkness to the world above with the intention of visiting her remaining friends, only to discover it was long past midnight, the rest of the Temple now sleeping quietly.

"In what way do you fail?" Kae's cold voice drifted to her from across the table separating them, the Master's attention never leaving the record she currently pursued.

Revan ignored the insulting phrasing of the question, having long since adjusted to the inscrutable Master's method of instruction. The near two weeks of utter silence that had met her the first time she had allowed her temper to flare at the Master had taught her well. For the sake of her insatiable curiosity, Revan could swallow her pride.

"I don't understand why you are showing me all of this."

"Explain." Despite her emotionless tone, Revan spotted the exceedingly rare faint smile that formed on her Masters face. She was touching upon the lesson of the lessons, a feat even the cleaver girl rarely accomplished. She licked her lips, treading carefully now.

"The greatest strength of the Jedi Order," Revan started slowly, watching what she could see of her Masters face to see if she was straying off course, "is it remains oblivious of its own hypocrisy. The Sith Code cares for nothing outside of the self, and so it is able to embrace every conflicting and hypocritical act so long as it furthers their own goals. The Jedi have no such luxury, however, to adhere to the Code the Jedi must live only for the good of others. But the Code is perfect, and Jedi are flawed. What the Jedi must represent cannot possibly be fulfilled by what they really are. Were the Jedi to truly, consciously accept the full extend to which the reality of their actions opposes their beliefs, the ideal of the Order would be shattered. Only through willful ignorance of this fact is the Order able to persist and stand as the guiding force of the Galaxy."

"And by teaching you such an idea," Kae finished for her, at least looking up to lock blue eyes with blue eyes, "I have taken from you this strength."

"If all of this is true, then the certainty upon which the convictions of a Jedi must be built cannot stand on you have shown me." Revan replied.

"Ah, but can it be said I have robbed you of such certainty, when it never truly existed to begin with?"

"I believe in the Code, Master."

"But with a conviction born of the self, not of the Order. And so it is a flawed belief."

"Master?"

"Through flaws, conflict is first born. It is only through conflict that the true strength of a belief, and of a self, can be found. Our flaws challenge us; they move us and save us from stagnation, from the meaningless death that consumes the perfected. Discover your flaws, my Padawan, and you will discover your true conviction."

Revan mulled over this for a while, uncertain where to next take her line of questioning.

_Time to try the direct route..._

"What is it you believe, Master?"

"I? I believe it takes only the smallest flaw to crack the foundation of the tallest mountain, if it has too long gone untested. The simplest pressure, applied at the correct point and time, to send the mighty rock tumbling into the sea." Kae stood, closing the open records before her as she turned away from her pupil.

"But my belief is unimportant. We have finished my Padawan, though far sooner that I would have wished. Remember always, there is much yet left for me to teach." The low groan of stone sliding against stone echoed softly from above, the unmistakable sound of the doors to the Archives grinding open. "Go, now. I wish to be alone."

"Yes, Master." Revan replied uncertainly, curious what she had done to be so suddenly dismissed. She left the records and holocrons where they lay strewn across the table, uncertain what do with her suddenly free time. It had been months since Revan had last not spent at least fourteen hours of the day learning under her Master, and she had taken to meditating for several hours each day in the back corner of the Archives rather than return to her old room for sleep.

She climbed the stairs that lead out of the Archives, passing a serious looking Knight on the stairway as he descended down towards her Master. An itch burned at the back of her neck for an instant: something significant was about to happen in this room. She paused on the stairs, half of her longing to refuse her Master's dismissal. But Kae must have felt it too, and known it would be a moment she wished to pass alone. The faint voice of the Knight below drifted past her ear

"Master Kae, by the order of the Jedi Council you are commanded…"

But Revan had already resumed her march up the stairs, cutting off whatever the Council had chosen to command as she reached the exit, stepping once more into the light.


	18. Forwards and Backwards

_One does not need to be Jedi to learn the ways of the Force. I suspect it cares little for our codes and philosophies. – _Kreia

Revan was very good at Pazaak. This was mostly because she cheated unrepentantly at it. As she would say, cheating was really three quarters of the skill involved in actually playing the game. And a Jedi should never rely solely on luck, anyway.

A small pile of Avri's few worldly possessions sat mockingly behind her as the dark haired Padawan shuffled her deck once more. Lae, sitting on the Garden wall behind them, said nothing as the blue boy handed over his outer robe to Revan. Lae had been around longer than the younger Padawan and knew from experience that entering into any kind of competition with Revan tended to lead only to misery. Revan figured that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy watching others learn this valuable lesson, and secretly thought the older human took private delight in watching the terribly one sided game. As for Avri, she had to admit the boy seemed to be taking the thrashing very well. It was as if the boy was simply too overwhelmingly happy to be able to spend time with his long absent idol to be bothered by the fact he would soon have no articles of clothing left to lose. If Vrook saw his Padawan now, Revan was sure that throbbing vein in his temple would finally achieve what it had been attempting to do since he was her Master and burst mid lecture.

She flipped over her final card and gave a small crow of victory as she, once more, hit a natural 20 and defeated Avri's stand at 19. The sixteen year old shook his head happily, congratulating Revan on winning the first round of the new match as he cheerfully shuffled his borrowed deck once more.

"Avri," Revan finally commented, amusement coating her tone, "don't you think you should really stop? I know Jedi don't need material things, but if you keep this up you're going to be positively indecent by the time we head back in."

The bare footed boy shrugged carelessly, laying down the first of his cards. "I don't think you're actually going to keep all my things, Revan. I mean, what are you going to do with clothing two sizes too big for you?"

Revan pouted as she flipped her first card. When they had first met, Avri and she had been near eye level, nearly four years later she starred squarely at his chin when they stood facing each other. It really wasn't fair.

"You never know," she countered, "I may just throw them out to teach you a lesson about gambling."

"You wouldn't." Avri looked slightly hesitant despite his statement. "…would you?"

Revan leveled the boy with a serious stare, his face losing color slightly as she did, in her opinion, a fairly good impression of Master Kae's penetrating look.

"No," a deep voice interjected from above, "she wouldn't."

Revan grinned, leaning back to stare up at Lae "Spoil sport."

"Someone must fill Ga'el's role." He replied calmly, shaking his head as Avri lost the round once more.

Revan's smile flickered slightly at that comment and she shrugged, gathering up her cards. Glancing around, she saw a figure making its way towards them from the Temple.

"Well, I don't know about that…" She sighed, placing the deck back into the pocket of her inner robes and shoving the pile of clothing back towards the Twi'lek.

"Put some cloths on, it looks like we have company."

Avri had just shrugged on his brown outer robe and was beginning the intricate process of tying it when the Padawan, Revan knew him from somewhere but could not place her finger on his name, jogged up to the group. An amused smirk crossed Revan's lips as he bowed slightly before them.

"Padawan Revan, the Council commands your presence immediately." The smirk fell away quickly at his words, a puzzled frown taking its place.

Avri looked at her curiously, "Did you do something?"

"No," she replied honestly, "for once I am entirely innocent. I've been too busy in the dungeons to raise any hell recently."

"Padawan," the male in front of them insisted, "the Council does not wish to be kept waiting."

"Well," she drawled, covering her worried confusion, "we wouldn't want to force the Council to practice a little patience, now would we?" She pushed herself off the grass, dusting off her robes to following the other Padawan. Avri and Lae rose as well, trailing a few feet behind them as they made the walk from the Gardens to the Council Chamber.

Worry burned through her as they climbed the stairs to the anteroom. It was a trip she had made hundreds, if not thousands, of times before; she was fairly certain the stairs had a groove matching her footprints at this point. Before, she had always done _something_ to warrant it before hand, however. Tricks, pranks, or fights with Malak, had any of these occurred in the recent past she would be fine making this journey. But as she had observed earlier, she had been too busy with Master Kae in the past few months to cause so much as a peep. And Malak had been off world for over a year with occasional transmission between them the only form of communication the two had had in that time. Nothing within those had been particularly damning if intercepted by the Council, and certainly not incriminating enough for her to be called so suddenly before the entire Council. Unless Ga'el had told…but she would have no reason to do so now, not after she had promised and so much time had passed. Unless Atris had changed her somehow….but these thought were useless.

Revan knew from long experience that going into the Council Chamber while thinking only of crimes you had committed was a death sentence. Masters could sense your guilt immediately, even if they did not yet know the source. She swallowed her concerns as she crossed the anteroom, leaving them behind her with Avri, Lae, and the other Padawan as she entered the Council Chamber.

All twelve Masters were gathered along the upper ring of the room, seated solemnly in their respective chairs as she took her place in the center of the Chamber, bowing deeply before them. No, she noticed suddenly as she came up from her bow. No, not all twelve. So used to not sensing her Master's presence through the Force, Revan had simply assumed Kae would be seated in her typical place to the left of her. Upon standing from her bow, however, Revan found the enigmatic Master's seat vacant. Revan bit her lip nervously, not able to look away from the empty chair until Zhar spoke.

"Padawan Revan, events have occurred that are not to be known to the rest of this Temple." He paused, fixing his gaze on her, "However, as they affect your education directly, we have decided to impart some of what has occurred this day to you. It is an uncommon honor for a Padawan to be privy to the decisions made by the Council, and it is only by the trust we have in you to appreciate the weight of this honor that you have been called before us now. Do you understand?"

"I believe so, Master Zhar." She replied, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion. Whatever had happened, it wasn't the result of her actions. And it wasn't good.

Vrook sighed irritably, the Twi'lek Master ignoring the human's dramatics as he continued.

"Very well. Let it be known that through actions and words both of the past and of today, the details of which are neither yours to know nor ours to tell you, Arren Kae will no longer be a Master of you, nor indeed this Order, from this day forth."

"What?" She whispered, starring at her former Master in shock.

"Kae has chosen the path of the Exile over that of repentance," Vrook cut in, distain dripping from his words even as Zhar and several other Masters turned to stare at him in disapproval. "She has given into her own weakness, and abandoned the path of Light and this Order."

Revan spun around at his words, rushing to the doors of the Chamber to go in search of her Master. Her hand reaching for the stone door froze as Zhar spoke once more.

"Revan, this Council has not dismissed you."

She swallowed hard, her hand falling from the door as she obeyed, not daring to so openly defy the Council of Masters.

"You see how she has already influenced her," Vrook argued to the Council, ignoring Revan's presence, "she seeks to act without wisdom or guidance, flying to her fallen Master's side without thought."

"I," Revan stated coldly, turning back to face the awaiting Council, "am influenced by nothing. My actions are my own. I will not be seen as someone else's creation or fault."

The familiar vein pulsed on Vrook's head "You hear her? Since her youth this one has been nothing but defiant, and now she is tainted by the Exile's teachings."

"That is enough." Zhars calm voice cut through Vrook's arguments. "We did not call Revan here to pass the judgment given to another upon her. You forget yourself in condemning an innocent of another's crimes, Master Vrook. It is not the way of the Council to do such."

Vrook glared at Zhar, falling into silence at the serene Master's words as the rest of the Council murmured in agreement.

"Revan," Zhar continued once the Chamber had fallen into silence, "as you know, you are now without a Master once more. As you are, by any measure, reaching the end of your time as a Padawan, it is the decision of the Council," he paused to glance at Vrook, as if daring him to contradict his statement, "that you be able to select, what by all account should be, your final Master. You may select any Master from this Temple, or the Academy on Datooine, provided that Master will have you. We understand this is a sudden and important choice now before you, and so we will give you the night to weigh your choices if you wish."

Kavar instantly filtered across the agitated Padawan's mind. Not only would that bring her to Datooine with Malak, it would provide her the chance to join the two on their scouting mission of the Outer Rim, a task the ever curious Padawan had coveted since Malak's last transmission. The idea was quickly dismissed, however. Ga'el was on Datooine, and even if the other woman did not report Revan's ulterior motives for choosing the Master, Revan knew she could not face the look of disappointment again.

The Outer Rim still remained, though. This was quite possibly her only opportunity to be included on any scouting missions to the troubled region before she gained her Knighthood. It was not one she was willing to pass up. Thinking back to the last transmission Malak had sent her, Revan gave a deep mental sigh as she reached the only logical conclusion to her predicament.

"I am decided now, Masters. If he would have me back, I would serve the rest of my time as Padawan under Master Vrook."

Managing to replace an entire Jedi Council's expressions with identical looks of shock almost made the pain she was going to suffer because of this worth it.

Vrook's stunned acceptance and the general surprise of the Council as a whole lead to Revan being quickly dismissed after the matter was settled. She should have been surprised, she supposed, that Vrook had been willing to accept her back. Though, if the Master were nearly as like her as Ga'el had once suggested, she figured he, like she would in his position, simply wasn't able to simply turn aside from that large of a challenge. To refuse to attempt to reeducate the Padawan he so often criticized would be nothing less than admitting defeat before the Council; as much misery as it would bring for the both of them, Vrook could hardly refuse her choice of him without injuring his own pride.

* * *

As soon as she had left the Chamber, Revan had flown past Lae and Avri, promising to explain the situation to them later. She hurried back to the Archives, hoping to catch the exiled Master once more before she vanished from the Temple. She was stopped at the entrance to the Archives by the two Knights on duty. Master Kae had already left for the hanger, they explained, and as she had informed them Revan was no longer her Padawan, the blue eyed woman was once more forbidden to enter the area without her new Master's permission.

Revan wasted no time by arguing the stupidity of that sentiment, after all half of her belongings still lay tucked into corners of the Archives from her having more or less taken up residence in the darkened building, and instead resumed her race, running as only a wielder of the Force could to the Temple hanger bay. She heaved a sigh of relief as she spotted the still robed exile standing in the hanger, awaiting the opening of the loading door to the transport which would deposit her on the world of her choosing.

"Master!" she gasped upon arriving next to the hooded figure, her lungs fighting to refill with air after her run.

"No such titles exist between us now, Revan. There is no boundary to separate us any longer." Kae stated solemnly, regarding her with ice blue eyes.

Revan shook her head "As you said, you have not taught me everything yet. Until I have nothing more to learn, you will always be my Master."

"To place such weight on the words of an Exile is against the teachings of the Jedi Council."

"But not the Code," Revan replied, "The Code cares only about the dismissal of ignorance, not the source of knowledge."

"You have leaned much, my student," Kae replied, that faint smile appearing once more, "and I foresee one day you shall learn more. One day we shall meet once more as Teacher and Student, away from the prying eyes and ears of fools and cowards." The transport boarding ramp lowered, and her Master turned from her to board the shuttle.

Revan bit back the flood of questions that lingered at the tip of her tongue, still not understanding why any of this was happening, or when they would be able to speak to each other again. Kae reached the entrance to the transport and Revan gave up attempting to find the right words to voice her concerns, only bowing once more before.

"Until then, my Master."

"Until then, my Apprentice."

The door sealed shut behind her, and Revan backed away from the transport as the engines roared to life. She stood in the hanger long after the shuttle had vanished from sight, puzzling over the meaning of her Master's parting words.


	19. Datooine

Time, Revan reflected ruefully, had dulled the memory of the sheer amount of pain serving as Vrooks Padawan amounted to. Oh, certainly she would always recall the frustration and irritation that her and Vrook's conflicting personalities bred, but somehow the memories had grown fainter with time, the nostalgia of the past dampening even those unpleasant aspects. Now, as she lived through it once more, she could clearly recall the immeasurable amount of headaches and frustration the arrogant Master caused her. Were it not for Avri's near ecstatic attitude at having Revan join him in service to the Master to brighten the mood, Revan strongly suspected only one out of she and Vrook would have made it to the Datooine Temple alive. Or at least, in once piece. Neither of them were angry enough to break the Code, though she was fairly certain they both realized just how fuzzy both the Code and the Council were on the area of kneecaps. Or arms. Or, and this was her favorite late night fantasy, tongues. She was sure Vrook would be considered vastly improved by all if that annoying organ could simply be removed from his head.

Fortunately for all involved, Avri was there. Despite the Twi'lek youths and amazingly persistent naivety, as Vrook's primary Padawan he was to be included on the scouting Mission to the Outer Rim. The practical side of Revan had been quick to point out to the temperamental Master that, if the youth really was to accompany them into dangerous territory, then perhaps he should be allowed to construct his lightsaber on Datooine before they left for the mission. As she had, in all honesty, expected, her suggestions were met with nothing more than a disapproving frown and a lecture on how power given too early led to corruption. She attempted to ignore the pointed stares he gave her own twin blades as he spoke, reminding her once more of his outspoken objections to her and Malak obtaining them several years ago. In the end, Revan allowed the excited Padawan to practice with her longer blade during the several day journey to the Temple, being sure to only allow such sessions while Vrook meditated or was otherwise engaged elsewhere.

It was with no small relief, therefore, that Revan leapt off the shuttle before the loading ramp had fully descended once they landed on the rural world. Avri clambered happily behind her, his eternal optimism impressed even by the few settlements they could see dotted across the grass covered landscape. Vrook followed them shortly afterwards, prowling down the loading ramp with an unimpressed glance at Revan, before walking swiftly towards the Jedi Enclave without a second glance at his two Padawan's. Revan jogged slightly to keep up with the taller mans pace, walking steadily beside the Master as Avri trailed shortly behind. Upon reaching the Temple doors, Vrook stated he must first meet with the Masters alone; releasing the Padawan's to explore the Temple until he called for them once more.

Vrook had hardly spoken their dismissal before Revan veered away from him towards the side halls of the Temple, Avri following along curiously. Revan focused on her bond, following the threads of the Force in the general direction of her goal. She sensed several other life forms in the same general area of him and she assumed he was teaching some sort of class at the moment. The thought did little to deter her, however, and as she reached the metallic doors separating her from her target, she simply breezed through rather than await a more appropriate moment to make her appearance known to him.

It was worth it. He had been mid-duel with a blonde youngling or Apprentice, Revan couldn't tell which, when she entered. His eyes flew wide at her sudden appearance, and his stroke when wild opening up his side to the boy in before him, who used the Padawan's moment of distraction to land a weak blow to Malak's ribcage. Revan's grin increased to near painful size as Malak utterly ignored the proud looking boy, lowering his practice blade to stare in undisguised wonder at her presence.

"So this is what you've been doing with out me?" she quipped, "beating up little children with wooden blades? Really Malak," she unclipped her twin sabers from her belt, "if you want to teach them anything you should at least give them a decent demonstration." She activated the sabers, the crackling silver blades hissing to life as she grinned at him.

The blonde stepped back nervously at her actions, turning for guidance to the now smiling Malak. "You may be seated, Mical." Malak grinned, "We will be having a slight change in our lesson plan today."

Revan leapt forward as he finished his sentence, darting through the watching students to land inside the dueling ring at the center of the room. She frowned as she stood before him, appraising how he had changed in the past year.

"You grew." She accused.

"Maybe you shrank." He countered, activating his own blue blade.

She surged towards him, her crossed blades crashing against his now, the distance between them decreasing dramatically. She smiled up at him over the blades, her whispered words drowned out for all but him over the crackle of the connected sabers.

"I missed you."

He grinned lovingly down at her, and then shoved her away with a twist of his blade, sending her reeling backwards. He brought his saber up before him in a defensive position before teasing back.

"Than you should aim better next time."

Revan laughed excitedly and then charged forward once more. Over the next half hour, the two of them gave the gathered class a demonstration of fighting and Force like none of them had seen before and, in the end, none were sure just which one of the two exceptional Padawan's had won.

Later the afternoon, the Council was still occupied within Datooine's Council Chambers thus leaving the three Padawan's with an abundance of free time. Revan had been quick to convince Avri to go seek out Ga'el. Though Revan was sure Ga'el, with her bizarre connection to the emotions of others, had already detected their presence on the small world, she did not want to risk bumping into the other Padawan unannounced. It had been over a year since their confrontation, and Revan was unsure whether or not the other girl still stood by her angered sentiments. Regardless, Revan decided it would be better for Avri to make there arrival official known to the other woman. Ga'el would probably be happier to see the idealistic Twi'lek anyway.

Avri's absence left Revan and Malak free to walk together off the Temple grounds. As tempted as she had been to catch a glimpse at this mysterious Padawan he had mentioned to her, she was far more curious about the mysterious discovery he had made along the rocky cliffs lining the plains of the area outside the settlement. They spoke of the past year as they walked: of Kae's exile and Kavar's interest in Ga'el, the warped history of the Jedi Order and the mounting tension among the Masters regarding the Outer Rim. Around them swayed the gently rippling grass, the wind stirring the fragrance of the many types of flora into the air. Though she had never walked along the surface of Datooine beyond the Jedi temple, the atmosphere prickled at the back of her neck, reminding her of something she had felt long ago. She was too happy to simply be in the other Padawan's presence once more, however, to spend too much time pondering the feeling. Even the slightest occupation with the sensation vanished as they approached a small opening in the cliff wall and a different feeling settled over the Padawan. The cave before them fairly hummed with the Force, and she found her senses nearly drowned in the ocean of energy radiating from it.

"This is what you wanted to show me?" she wondered as they drew nearer.

"Crystals," he confirmed quietly, entering the cave, "once you make it past the Kath hounds they practically cover the walls."

"It's amazing," she whispered. "I can hardly sense you standing there over them. They're so… so loud through the Force."

"Exactly." He stated, and Revan jumped slightly as his arm made its way around her waist, drawing her against him. "A Master could just be just around that bend and not sense a thing we do." He buried his face in her hair, his free hand running down her back. "I missed you too."

She licked her lips nervously, tilting her head back to rest her forehead against his check. "Well, than," she whispered hoarsely, "what are we waiting for?"

The rough stone of the cave wall ground against her back as he shoved her against it. His hands swiftly buried themselves under her outer robe before she could speak another word. Her eyes fluttered shut; her sense filled only his smell, his heat, his taste, and the overwhelming song of the Force surrounding them.

"I can't believe no one had harvested these before us," Revan remarked several hours later as the Jedi Temple drew back into sight. She adjusted the folder outer robe held in her arms for the umpteenth time to better support the crystals carefully wrapped with it. "All we had to do was make it past a few dozen hounds, and there was an entire world of them for us to gather up." She sighed, sending a longing glance back at the cave, "I wish I had more sabers. Such a world of opportunity and I leave with just there few…."

"After everything we did in that cave, all you can think about are the crystals?" Malak asked incredulously.

"Am I not complimenting your male ego enough, Sare? I think we're a little too close to the Temple at this point to get into that kind of discussion." Despite her words a deep blush stole over her face. A cave was not her location of choice for such an event, but they needed to work with what opportunities they had. Jedi of the Order could hardly justify slipping into each other rooms at night, especially at such a small Temple, and the cramped transport they would take to investigate the Outer Rim would hardly offer the privacy needed for the act.

"I'm only trying to gauge your priorities, Revan…" he trailed off, starring hard at a spot in the distance. Revan tried to stare along with him, but the hill before them blocked the much shorted Padawan's view.

"What is it?"

"I think…I think that little Twi'lek of yours is coming towards us."

"Avri?" Revan jogged ahead carefully, the small bundle of crystals tucked tightly against her chest as she climbed up the hill before them. Reaching the top she had to agree with Malak, her young friend was indeed racing along the fields towards them. He slowed down as he neared them, leaning forward to rest his hands on his knees while he caught his breath from his jog from the Temple.

"Ga'el," he stated between heavy breaths, "said you'd be out this way. The Masters have been looking for you two," Revan and Malak exchanged worried glances, waiting for him to continue. "We're leaving for the Outer Rim tonight. I guess one of the unclaimed worlds has asked for the Jedi's help. They want to us to meet in the hanger before sunset to take off."

Revan turned to regard the horizon, observing the slight gap still present between the sun and the edge of the land.

"Have you been looking for us for a while?" she ventured.

Avri nodded, standing fully upright now that he was recovered from the run. "Ga'el couldn't sense either of you for the longest time, it was strange. She was starting to look really concerned. Then you just popped back up, I guess." He suddenly noticed the lump of robes gathered in Revan's arms and looked at her curiously.

"Crystal's," she explained, "we were gather crystals." She hoped the fact Malak carried none on his person and the state of her under robes and hair would either go unnoticed, or simply be excused by the other Padawan.

"There are crystal caves near here?" he perked up visibly at the news, and Revan had to suppress a sigh of relief. Of course he wouldn't notice, Avri was too innocent to even think of such actions, let alone accuse her of performing them.

"We should be returning to the Temple." Malak broke in, cutting off Revan's affirmative response to the boy.

"Oh," Avri stated, his eyes widening at the reminder, "yeah, we really should. The three of them will be waiting for us."

"The three of them? Revan questioned as they resumed walking back to the Temple. "Is another Master coming?" If another Master of the Council were coming along on a simple request for aide and scouting mission, things must truly be getting serious along the Rim.

"No," Avri turned to grin in obvious excitement as he explained, "Master Kavar talked Master Atris into letting Ga'el come with us! Something about observing current history, I don't know. Either way, he offered and she accepted, great huh?"

"Yeah…" Revan replied, "great." Both males looked at her oddly, and she forced a smile. Neither knew of the argument or the resulting split between her and Ga'el, and Revan could well imagine the blonde's ulterior motives for accepting a position on the mission. She would want to observe if Revan had truly fallen from the Code. Revan also suspected that even though she had sworn there would no longer be the burden of emotional attachment between them, Ga'el could not change her nature so easily. The conflict of emotions inside the stoic girl could lead to a very uncomfortable journey for both the two women, and Malak.

She sighed at thought, drawing even more confused looks from her companions.

"Something really did happen between you two, didn't it?" Malak asked, causing Avri to blink in surprise.

"Oh no. No." Revan quickly lied, "I was just thinking of how cramped that transport's going to be with the six of us on it."

Avri laughed in relief, "Don't worry, Revan. We're taking a real ship this time! With a cargo hold and everything." Malak did not look so nearly convinced.

"That," Revan continued, "and how much Master Kavar seems to be going out his way for her. It's a little strange, isn't it?"

"I think," Malak stated, "My Master sees a warrior in her, not just another historian to be locked away with dusty shelves. And," he added, "I don't know if Kavar can pass up an opportunity to prove Atris wrong."

Revan raised her eyebrows at this, but let the subject drop. It had had its intended effect of taking the two male's minds off her and Ga'el's relationship, so there was truly no need for her to continue.

"I've heard all about Master Kavar's adventures from Master Vrook!" Avri piped in, "He says Kavar lead an entire army in the last Sith war…" The happy Padawan rambled on, his words becoming nothing more than a soothing hum in the back of her mind. Revan soon lost herself once more to the worried thoughts plaguing her at the idea of traveling so long and far with her former friend. What was she going to say to her?

She was too absorbed in her own thoughts to notice the worried looks Malak threw her way for the rest of the walk back to the Temple.


	20. Interception

_A/N: Just a quick reminder that this will not be following the cannon material outside the KOTOR games. I've been doing some research into the cannon start of the Mandalorian Wars and at this point I can neither force my story to fit with the general outline, nor do I particularly want to. I will, however, be borrowing some events, out of chronological order, as I don't want to just make up new planets/colonies in the Star Wars Universe. So, if you see the names of places and some basic plots from the cannon material, please don't expect them to really fit with anything near what happens in the novels, I am only borrowing them for simplicity sake. Thank you._

_

* * *

  
_

"_I remembered when word of the Mandalorian attacks arrived on Iridonia. My people had colonies across the Outer Rim. Many of them were among the first systems to fall." _– Bao-Dur

Would it not have lead to her most likely instantaneous exile from the order by Vrook or have sent Malak into some sort of jealousy-driven homicidal rage, Revan could have kissed Master Kavar. In fact, if not for the previously stated consequences, the amount of gratitude she felt towards the man could have led her to do many recently discovered and distinctly unJedi-like things to the handsome Master.

Despite the eagerly awaited mission before them, Revan had entered the ship on Datooine with no small amount of trepidation. Not only would she, once more, be confined in close quarters with her Vrook, a situation dreaded regardless of the company, it would be in addition to having Malak, Ga'el, and the world of conflicting emotions and forbidden feelings the two brought aboard, add into the already unstable mixture. Revan had been very close to simply sealing herself into one of the durasteel shipping containers in the cargo hold and relying on her Jedi metabolism and force of will to sustain her until they reached their destination. In honesty, it had seemed like the safest plan when she considered the many, many ways a wrong choice of words or inappropriate glance could end in, if not her complete exile from the Order, at least her swift return to the Temple with no hope of stepping off world for the next decade. The staggering amount of pressure on her to seem calm and unattached in her dealings with both Malak and Ga'el was enough to make even the determined Padawan want to rock quietly in a corner.

All that, however, was before she had gotten to know the sheer wonder of a person that was Kavar. It was nearly a week to the recently devastated colony of Iridia, and the Guardian made sure to leave them with hardly enough time to think, let alone privately interact, during the journey.

Despite the very slow and limited trickle of information that had been allowed to reach the general population of the Jedi Order, the Council of Masters seemed to have access to the entire Republic Military database on the current difficulties facing the Outer Rim. Kavar wasted no time in rectifying the Padawan's ignorance on the subject, introducing the four to the Mandalorian Threat and the Republic's actions regarding it in short order.

Revan had heard of the Mandalorians, of course, and strongly suspected Ga'el had as well. They had both spent the past year in separate Jedi Archives after all, though Revan was sure she had gained a far more unbiased education regarding the warrior race and it's involvement with Exar Kun than the blonde had under the idealistic Atris. They were, in some respects, very much like the Jedi in the fact they followed, with a chilling fanaticism, a single code that guided every aspect of their lives. It was a code of honor and battle, rather than one of peace and wisdom, but a code nonetheless. For reasons unknown, the Mandalorians had returned from the exile from known space following Exar Kun's defeat, and had spent nearly the last decade slowly terrorizing the Outer Rim without interference from the Republic or the Jedi Order. Very recently, the Mandalore had set his sights on the resource rich planet's which Taris relied on, resulting in finally spurring the Republic into action to defend these economically important worlds. The Republic's request of the Order to investigate the recent Mid Rim attacks, the very mission they were currently undergoing, had resulted from this sudden change of heart on the part of the Republic.

Revan's personal thoughts on the Republic waiting until it's pocket book was threatened remained unspoken, though she could tell from the slight frown on Ga'el's face during that particular lecture that the blonde was experiencing similar thoughts. Jedi were supposed to be guardian's of the people and the Republic. The fact the entity they were sworn to serve had ignored the suffering of others for apparently monetary reasons didn't sit well with either of the women. Though what bothered Revan even more was the fact the entire Order, outside of the Masters, had purposefully been kept ignorant of these happenings. Her own ignorance could perhaps be blamed on her long isolation in the Archives, but the fact even Malak had not known about the invasions until Kavar spoke did not please the teen.

The most recent battle, if one could really call the one-sided devastation of the world such a thing, was the Zabrak colony of Iridia located on the divide between the Mid and Outer Rim. The government of the Zabrak home world Iridonia was sending a small squad of their troops to meet the Jedi on the devastated colony to retrieve the surprisingly large number of surviving civilians and attempt to determine why the Mandalorians had apparently simply abandoned the strategic location after their conquest. The Jedi and the Iridonian troops were then to report their findings back to the Senate, and then the Masters would bring both their discoveries and the words of the Republic to the Council for consideration.

Very few worlds attacked by the Mandalorians had enough escaped survivors to report how the attacks had occurred. What few outlines of battle strategy there were, however, greatly impressed Revan. While outwardly deceivingly direct and brutal, she could see the delicate subtlety within the plans that allowed the Mandalorians such total victory over even heavily guarded worlds. The attacks, despite all outward appearance, were never really direct. When the whole of a week or month was looked at, Revan could see where they had struck small blows and threatened unrelated areas to divide the Republic forces before driving their true strike home with savage force.

The Mandalorians had fought hard during their time with Exar Kun, and they had learned well how to deal with the now fragile Republic. Evan as the Republic seemed confident in what it considered to be a border skirmish with the Mandalorian civilization, Revan was sure the war to come would not be as simple as it seemed. Kavar agreed. The military trained Master seemed convinced something else was behind this conflict, an unknown entity that was the reason why the Council had agreed to send their scouts.

Any chance of free time once the history lessons and updates on the current situation were completed was avoided as Kavar made sure the Padawan's spent the rest of their time practicing their own fighting techniques and battle strategy. While they did not anticipate running into any rouge Madalorian's on the planet surface, Kavar did not believe in walking into situations without first being prepared for the worst possible outcome. While this exercise did wonders for taking up any semblance of free time the Padawan's may have had on the journey, it led to some unforeseen uncomfortable situations. The fights between her and Malak were as energetic and competitive as always, and her rounds with Avri nothing short of educational for the younger Padawan, however, the few rounds she fought against Ga'el were nothing short of frustrating for the woman.

During her time under Master Kae, Revan had been thoroughly introduced to the Echani race. Kae had been nothing less than fascinated with the culture, to the point that the small amount of combat training she had experienced under the Master involved the hand to hand combat style of the Echani rather than a lightsaber as Revan would have expected. These lessons surfaced in her mind as she stood against her former roommate in battle. While fighting Ga'el, Revan found herself resenting the presence of others in the room. There was a personal expression to their dance, a conflict that went beyond physical or verbal combat which Revan found highly inappropriate to display before the observing Master's and Padawan's. As her two silver blades crashed against Ga'el's double bladed saber, Revan could feel the distance between them, the stiff formality of Ga'el's movement betraying the rift that had grown. It made Revan want to throw her saber to the side and fight her hand to hand, to force herself into the blonde's personal space, to find out what she really felt behind her walls of Jedi discipline and indifference. But, as Kavar commented on their fighting styles and stances from the sidelines, she knew she could not. And so she and her former friend fought only twice, both rounds mere mockeries of battle that ended only part way through and before any victor could be found. Not once during their fights or at any other time during did the two women manage to make eye contact.

Revan was justifiably shocked, therefore, when she was awoken from her meditation by Ga'el clutching at her arm as they approached the devastated colony. Ga'el's hand that didn't currently hold Revan's upper arm in a vice-like grip was clutched desperately over her chest, the blonde's green eyes narrowed as she stared at Revan.

"They're here," she whispered. "The blood lust…I can feel it."

"What?" Revan replied, still shaking herself fully out of her deep mediation, "Who's here?"

"The Mandalorians. They've been waiting for us."

Revan stood quickly, dragging the taller woman up with her as she did. She starred at the blonde's pale face and skimmed her mind, gasping at the powerful wall of passion and excitement Ga'el was picking up from outside the ship. Before she had time to recover the com system crackled to life, Master Kavar's concerned voice filling the starboard quarters.

"Distress signal received from the Zerbrak transport, they have encountered enemy fire and have been forced to land on Iridia. I have not sighted any Mandalorian ships, but be prepared for evasive maneuvers."

Revan grasped Ga'el's shoulders with both hands, "Can you sense what direction they're in?"

The woman nodded and Revan shoved her towards the door, flinching slightly as the woman stumbled in pain from the intensity of the invading emotions. "Go tell Kavar. Malak and I will take up the turrets for when you find them."

She waited until Ga'el had made her way towards the cockpit before springing into action, darting down the corridors to the port side quarters where she found Malak, Avri and Vrook in heated discussion over the next course of action. Reavn had no time to deal with the arrogant Master, however, and turned her attention to Malak, barking out a quick order.

"Ga'el's found them. Take the port turrets; we have to be ready as soon as they come into view."

"What about me?" Avri asked anxiously.

"Stay here." Revan instructed. "Strap yourself into something so you don't get hurt."

"You all," Vrook objected, "will remain here. Kavar and I will determine the best course of action."

The ship lurched suddenly to the side, causing all four to grasp at the bunks or doorframe to keep from tumbling over. The ship righted itself, then spun once more to the other side, this time sending Revan falling back out into the hall of the ship. Malak raced after her as soon as it was safe to move, pulling her to her feet before continuing past her to the gun turrets. Revan followed quickly after, ignoring Vrook's shouted protests as she wove her way back to the starboard weapons, strapping herself into the chair even as the ship leaned to the side once more.

Revan had never attempted to fire a turret before, never mind try to hit a moving enemy with one. She was experienced and skilled with mechanics, a bit of a rarity with in the Order and a skill she had developed more for recreation than any practical appliance, however, and so quickly determined the proper operating procedure for the weapon before her. Clicking the headset into place, Revan stared at the vast emptiness of space before her, a single swerving vessel visible against the oblivion behind it.

"That's it?" she wondered allowed, not even bothering to attempt to lock on as Kavar swooped the ship out of the way, easily avoiding all fire from the other vessel.

"No." Ga'el's voice crackled over the ear piece in the headset, causing Revan to jump. "That is only the Shepard, leading us to his pack."

"How many are there?" she questioned, realizing now her voice would carry to the cockpit and Malak through the headset.

"Dozens." Ga'el whispered back, her emotionless voice sending a chill down Revan's spine. "They've been hiding, but I can feel them. All of them. They're waiting on the other side of the planet to shoot us down so they can fight us on land." She paused, as if considering something for a second, "I sense… they wish to see what it is like to fight the Jedi, face to face. Their commander has not experienced it before…" Her voice trailed off quietly, the detached quality of her words unchanging.

_How did they know we were coming?_

"But we know better than to go over there, right?" Malak questioned uneasily, and turning her viewer to the planet below Revan observed that they were, in fact, heading directly towards the other side of the small world.

"The Zabrak fleet has already been attacked, and the reaming colonists reside on that side of the planet." Kavar's voice broke in, tight with focus. "We will not abandon those under our protection."

"We can't go charging in like this." Malak cut in, concern evident in his voice. "Us being destroyed won't help them either."

"We won't be destroyed," Revan stated, observing the pattern to their flight as Kavar pushed onwards. "Malak, as soon as something other than the Shepherd ship is visible, start firing."

"You understand, than, Revan?" Kavar asked, a small amount of approval creeping in to mix with the stress in his voice.

"I believe so, Master Kavar."

"I don't." Malak interjected, and Revan rolled her eyes.

"Just shoot until I say stop, okay? And don't get too worried when we crash."

"_Crash?_" Malak exclaimed, but was cut off as the first wave of Mandalorian ships came into view before them and Revan shouted out her order.

"Fire, fire now!"

Their shots flew wildly over the incoming vessels, and between her frantic attempts at aiming Revan counted six that she could see. Slipping her eyes shut, Revan fell into the Force, letting the connection between her and the life forms on the enemy ships guide her fire. Her eyes flew open as she landed a hit, one engine of the vessel flying over head bursting and sending the ship spinning wildly through space before exploding. Revan and Ga'el both released a sharp cry of pain as the lives on the ship ended.

"What is it?!" Malak yelled over the com system, the sounded of his own firing turret accompanying his words.

"It hurts…" Revan whispered, clawing at her chest as if she could tear the gaping ache the death of the Mandalorians had caused in her out of her rib cage "Oh, Force, it hurts."

Ga'el moaned softly over the system and Revan knew the intuitive woman felt the results of her actions as well.

"You cannot be so connected to your enemy." Kavar's voice broke in, "The Force flows through all life, and you must learn to separate yourself from those you must fight."

"How…" Revan started to ask, her words turning into a pained grunt as the Mandalorians' landed a hit on their vessel. Kavar maneuvered the ship wildly, darting through the enemy ships until his voice came through the headset once more.

"Brace yourselves for impact!"

The ship lurched forward, the view before Revan changing rapidly from the endless stars and firing ships to the brown and blue world below as Kavar began their decent. Revan braced herself against the chair, knowing if Kavar was going to fake a crash landing well enough so the Mandalorians would believe their ship to be disabled, he'd have to land pretty hard.

The crash site of the Zabrak ship became visible as they approached the ground; the solid straps holding Revan into her chair cutting deeply into her flesh as the G force on them increased. Kavar spun the ship, moving them to land within a kilometer of the other vessel. The lights of the ship flickered rapidly as they plunged into a body of water, the entire ship submerging for a second before bouncing back to the surface, the energy systems rebooting themselves one by one as the ship came to rest.

Revan's breath came in short gasps as she removed her restraints, focusing on the Force long enough to heal the deep bruises across her chest and the laceration on her forearm from where she had slammed it against the wall upon impact. She flicked the viewer screen of her headset off and on rapidly, letting out a small relieved sigh as it came back to life, allowing her to scan the surrounding world.

"Revan, are you alright?" Malak's concerned voice crackled into her ear.

"Yeah," she replied, too preoccupied with scanning for Mandalorian ships to realize how much damage his careless words could do to their attempts to hide their relationship.

The crashed Zabrak ship was plowed half into the lake and half onto the shore nearly half a kilometer away from them, and beyond that Revan could see the mostly destroyed buildings that must be where the remaining colonists were. She scanned the skies desperately, searching for the pursuing Mandalorians to no avail.

"I can't see them." She stated over the com. "They don't seem to be coming."

"They will." Ga'el replied, her words still detached despite the groan of pain she now uttered as Revan heard her shifting in the cockpit. "They want to see if we are worthy opponents."

"They're giving us time to plan… They want our best effort." Revan said with dawning realization.

"Their Commander wishes to see what it is to fight the Jedi." Ga'el reminded her.

"Oh," Revan stated coolly, removing her headset so only she heard the rest of her statement. "Don't worry. We'll show him."


	21. Waiting

"_For all the acts we do to preserve the galaxy, from such an arrogance that all we do is right and just, I wonder if there is a counter-effect that is created, that strikes back at us. Exar Kun, Ulic Qel-Droma, Malak, Revan, you... all Jedi."_ - Zez-Kai El

She had nearly made it to the cockpit before Vrook intercepted her, a shaken Avri trailing close behind him. The half snarl on his face was a look Revan was both all too familiar with and in absolutely no mood to handle at the moment. She turned to look the middle-aged Master straight in the eye, challenging him to contradict her as she stated:

"I protected us."

"You," the Master replied, clearly unimpressed, "acted without thought."

"I acted without _hesitation_. There's a difference."

"You chose aggression over the orders of your Master!"

"I chose defense instead of letting us all get killed! The only reason you're upset is that I was right and you were wrong."

"You…" Whatever Vrook wished to call her was cut off as Kavar entered the hallway, Ga'el leaning heavily against his side with a disturbingly blank expression on her pale face.

"We do not have time for this, Vrook. You may discipline your Padawan when there are less pressing matters at hand."

Both Revan and Vrook shut their mouths grudgingly, a tension thick enough to slice with a blade still standing between them as Malak entered the area. He wiped away a thin trickle of blood running from a cut on his cheek as he appraised the situation.

"What now?" Malak asked, ignoring the tension hovering in the room.

Kavar nodded approvingly at his Padawan, and then addressed the assembled Jedi.

"I have spoken to the Zabrak unit. Their ship is not currently in operating condition. Considering the size of our vessel, we have no means of transporting the soldiers, let alone the civilians remaining on world. Their technician says the colonists may have the pieces required to fix their ship, assuming we are able to hold off the Mandalorians long enough for him to perform the repairs.

As Padawan Frey," he nodded to Ga'el as she raised her head from his shoulder, "is able to sense the movements and some intentions of our opponents, she will remain with Master Vrook and me as we speak to the Zabrak commander. The rest of your will escort the tech to the colony to speak with the civilians about the parts, and give him whatever help he needs. Should we have orders for you to pass onto the cologists, we will be in communication."

"Master," Malak interjected, "surely Revan and I can be more useful in battle preparations that in gathering engine parts."

"Now is not the time for pride, Padawan." Kavar shot Malak a warning look, silencing the male. Revan could feel his discontent through the bond and returned his unspoken objections. They were Jedi, not children; if a battle was coming they should be part of it instead of dragging back engine parts. Revan met the smug eyes of Vrook and felt her mood sour further. Her Master was obviously pleased she would be forced into a state of obedient inaction rather than being of actual assistance.

Kavar was right, however. They didn't have the time to argue. Judging by Ga'el's increasingly white face, the Mandalorians were become more excited for the impending battle by the second. If they were going to find parts for the transport ship, it would have to be now. Revan gestured for the two males to follow her and stalked towards the emergency exit hatch that would take them to the outer hull of the ship.

Half a dozen Zabrak troops had nearly reached the ship by the time all three Padawans had climbed onto the hull. Revan had to give credit to them for apparently being prepared for every eventuality as they easily navigated their small boat across the still rippling lake towards them. Revan saw Malak's hand move towards the lightsaber at his side as a small white orb flew from the boat towards them, darting around the Jedi and bleeping excitedly as the boat bumped into the side of the ship. One of the soldiers, the commander Revan judged by the higher quality of his jacket, saluted the three sharply.

"Permission to come aboard."

Revan glanced back at her companions and sighed quietly to herself. Avri stood in near wonder at the army personnel, reminded Revan just how little of the Galaxy outside the Jedi Temples the young Twi'lek had seen, while Malak eyed the chattering sphere warily, his hand remaining on the hilt of his saber.

_Looks like I'm in charge of this little operation…_

"Permission granted." She replied, stepping out of the way as all but one of the Zabrak boarded the Jedi vessel. "The Master's await you in the control room."

The commander nodded, leading his unit into the ship. Revan then turned to the one remaining soldier in the boat. He looked young, only slightly older than herself, possibly even the same age as Malak. He starred back up at her quietly, one hand remaining on the steering column of the boat, with an odd passion glinting in his eyes as he awaited her orders.

"You're the engineer, than?"

"Bao-Dur, Sir. Chief Technical Officer of the Iridonian First."

"Padawan Revan, of the Jedi Order. This is Padawan Malak and Avri, of the same." A small line of confusion appeared on his brow at her introduction, but he remained silent as she continued. "Shall we?" Revan more stated than asked, climbing down into the transport. They waited until Malak and Avri had climbed aboard as well before Revan nodded at the male and they started moving towards the shore, the white orb screeching as it was suddenly forced to race to keep up.

"Friend of yours?" She asked as they made away across the lake, some amusement creeping into her tone despite the dire circumstances as the ball continued to do laps around Malak's head whenever it could, obviously frustrating the Padawan to no end.

"The remote? Just something a built as a kid, Padawan." An odd hesitation came before he used her titled. "I haven't been able to get rid of him since."

Remote bleeped indignantly, breaking from its orbit around Malak's head to do a quick, noisy lap about Bao-Dur, then returning to pester the increasingly annoyed Jedi once more. The tech remained tense as the Remote circled him, paying no attention to the playful droid as he concentrated on steering them to shore. Revan watched the male curiously and, as they landed the boat, gave into her impulse, reaching quietly through the Force to scan the Zabrak's mind. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment at the solid wall of carefully controlled rage she found underneath, making her falter slightly as she climbed out of the boat. Both Malak and Bao-Dur reached out a hand to steady her, and Revan bit her lip slightly at the surprised look that flashed over the tech's face as she flinched away from his grasp.

An awkward silence feel over the group for a moment as Revan straightened her robes.

"You really hate the Mandalorians, don't you?" she asked.

All three males looked at her in surprise, Bao-Dur actually rocking back on his heels at the directness of her question. He looked at her warily, and Revan knew this wasn't a male who was at peace with his own inner rage and hatred.

"You see what they've done to this colony, and to a hundred worlds like it. What kind of creatures could do this to innocent people?"

If he were a Jedi, Revan would speak to him of focusing on his love of the victims rather than his hatred of the aggressors, of the Code, and the temptations of Darkness. But he wasn't a Jedi, he was just a tech, and so all she knew to do was nod wordlessly at his statement. He met her eyes silently for a second, searching for something in her as she had in him, then suddenly turned and led them towards the rubble of the settlement. Revan jogged slightly to catch up with him, walking quietly at his side as Malak and Avri trailed shortly behind. For several minutes the only sounds were the gleeful blips of the Remote and Malak's muttered threats and curses as he attempted to drive it away. Malak had never been too lucky with droids.

"I heard Jedi could read thoughts," he commented as they reached the half way point to their destination, "so you must be one. I've never heard of a Padawan, however. Is that a different kind of Jedi?"

"It's more like a Jedi in training," Revan confessed, relieved as the silence evaporated. "We learn under Jedi Masters. Once we know enough we become Jedi Knights."

"You mean the Republic didn't send real Jedi to help?" he looked at her out of the corner of his eye, dismay creeping into his voice.

"We are _real_ Jedi," Revan snapped back. "You see the lightsaber? You think they just hand these out?"

Bao-Dur's frown increased, but he said nothing more. The rest of the walk was spent in tense silence between the two.

The sight awaiting the four at the settlement was even worse than Revan had anticipated. Rotting corpses still lay strewn amongst the rubble, filling the air with a thick stench that caused Avri to place his sleeve over his nose to breath. Shattered glass and still smoldering ruins littered the streets and collapsed buildings everywhere they turned. Were it not for the life forms she could sense, many of them only faintly, through the Force, Revan would have thought all the civilians in the area were dead. As the three Padawan's paused to take in the carnage around them, Bao-Dur pushed on, a sharp the echo through the Force of an increased in his own tightly pent up rage his only apparent reaction to the sight.

"These colonies have sealed underground bunkers for the colonists to hide," he explained as he led them on a weaving path through the scorched grasslands far beyond the settlement. "They were designed incase of raiders though, not to withstand this kind of invasion. What we find may not be a pretty sight."

He was right, though not for the reasons he had anticipated. Revan had remained as close to stoic as possible during their tour of the ravaged town. The sight that greeted them once they reached the bunkers, however, brought bile into her mouth and caused Avri to rush to the side to empty the small contents of his stomach into a burnt bush. The hidden doors in the mountain face remained safely sealed; she could sense the still lingering life on the other side of them. Bordering the hidden entryway, however, was a gristly sight. The charred skeletal remains of several humanoids, Revan could only assume former Zabrak settlers, had been secured to the cliff face in a standing position along the bunker doors, left in a morbid mockery of a standing watch over the other civilians.

"Get them down," she whispered hoarsely, the acid of her stomach still burning the back of her throat, "Malak, Avri, get them down before we open the doors."

The three Padawans got swiftly to work as Bao-Dur set about attempting to find and access the control panel which would allow him to contact the survivors in the bunker. Even the Remote seemed to sense the oppressive weight of the moment, hovering quietly near the ground off to the side in calm observation of the sentients.

The question of why the bunker had been left untouched burned in Revan, combining with the many other inconsistencies of their trip. The Mandalorians had obviously known where the civilians were, and the desecrated state of those who had not made it into the bunker in time left little doubt that the warrior race had no issue with the slaughter of the innocent and uninvolved. Why hadn't they pressed forward? The bunker had not been designed to withstand real military technology; a single Mandalorain could have easily breeched its defenses and slaughtered the colonists within like they were drugged gizka. The only answer she could conceive of was they were bait. Now that the Republic had declared to defend worlds against them, the Mandalorians had set a trap to see what the Republic reaction to an attack would be.

But once they had seen how few had been sent to defend such an unprofitable world, why hadn't they simply killed the Iridonians in orbit? The Mandalorians clearly had the superior numbers; there was no reason to bring it to land.

_Their commander wishes to fight a Jedi. But they shot the Iridonian ship down first, long before we arrived. How could they know the Jedi were coming?_

It made no sense. It was possible the Mandalorians could have simply been setting traps throughout the Outer and Mid Rim in hopes of meeting a Jedi scouting party. But how could the Mandalorians have known that the Order would come to investigate a world with survivors on it? How had they known what to bait the trap with? It was possible they had learned such things during the war with Exar Kun…but still. It didn't feel right to the Padawan. The war with Exar Kun had been a Jedi matter to begin with. There was little reason to assume that simply because the Republic had declared war that the pacifistic Order would be swiftly brought into it. Unless...

Her line of thought was cut off as the walkie-talkie on her hip crackled to life, Kavar's sharp voice slicing through the air as she pressed the button to accept the incoming message.

"Padawan, Frey has sensed the Mandalorians are about to begin their invasion. The army and I will do what we can from the ships to prevent their landing. Master Vrook will be joining you to defend the civilians. Hold your position until then."

_The bait. He wants us to wait with the bait._

"Master," Revan interjected quickly, "I don't think that's a good idea…"

"There is no time for arguments, Padawan. These are my orders." The link cut off, leaving Revan with only static to growl at as she tossed the device angrily to the side. She liked her lips, looking at the anxious face of Avri, and the curious ones of Malak and Bao-Dur.

"He's telling us to wait in the trap until the Mandalorians decide to spring it." She snapped, pacing quickly as she took in the surrounding area. "The bunkers are the more secure area of the colony, they'll expect us to try and hold them with civilians inside."

All four turned at the loud sound of blaster fire striking metal as some kind of Mandaliorian drop ship came into view, only to be shot down by the Jedi vessel's turrets. It screeched loudly through the air before slamming into the ground beyond their sight, the resounding explosion that shook the dirt beneath their feet the only conformation of it's destruction they could perceive outside of the Force.

"Bao-Dur, open that bunker. We need to get those people of there before they manage to land."

The tech looked at her apprehensively "There is no other safe location on the colony."

"No," she snapped back, "there is not a _single_ safe location on this whole planet. And since the enemy knows that, they assume we'll stay here, where we think it's safe. So this is, now, the most dangerous place we could be. Open. That. Door."

He stared at her for another long moment, and then moved to obey. Revan watched the sky anxiously as he spoke to the civilians within, the doors finally groaning as they unsealed and opened to reveal the two dozen survivors of the initial Mandalorian raid.

_The practice invasion. _She thought ruefully as the colonists came out of the bunker, blood matting their clothing and obvious signs of hunger and fatigue rolling off them. The sky remained clear, after the initial ship no more had yet attempted to land.

A wave of gasps and moans went through the crowd of survivors as they took in the scene around them, the charred remains of their friends, though no longer holding a morbid vigil over them, still scattered around them, black clouds of smoke rising over a hill from where the Mandalorian ship had crashed. An older looking male stepped forward from the crowd, starring at the four young adults in shock and anger.

"_This_ is our rescue team? A group of _kids_?!"

"I'm afraid the grown ups are busy protecting Taris." Revan replied coolly, looking the angry male in the face. "And the ones here are off trying to stop the Mandalorians from landing again, so you'll just have to make due."

Panic rippled through the crowd at her words, and she could here more than one Zabrak let out a strangled sob at the news. The older male, apparently taking the role of leader of the survivors, started in shock, and then nearly shouted in rage at the short woman.

"The Mandalorians are still here, and you ordered us out of the bunkers?! Are you _mad_? We need to get back in immediately!"

"No!" Revan shouted back, her voice drowned out by the ensuing chaos of the colonists attempting to rush back into their bunker. "Wait!"

They paid her no heed, one shoving her back to land heavily against Malak when she attempted to physically stop them.

"Stop!" Malak roared, the crowd turning to regard him with wide eyed fear as he activated his lightsaber and brought it up, standing as a truly intimidating figure among the shaken survivors. A hushed silence fell over the group as they turned to regard the four in a new light.

"You are Jedi?" one female whispered. "They've sent Jedi for us?"

"Jedi or not!" the male snarled, reestablishing his position as leader, "They're only children. We can't trust them to protect us."

"You," Revan stated coldly, moving to stand next to the towering Malak, "will listen. Or, in all likelihood, you will die."

A mummer rose up in the crowd once more, the group dividing into those prepared to follow the Jedi, even if they were only kids, and those staunchly refusing to obey.

"Listen," Revan continued, "I don't care if you follow me or not. If you stay here, the Mandalorians will find you and they will kill you, but that is your choice. Anyone who wants to survive, listen to me."

"Please," Avri pleaded to the group, "Revan knows what she's doing." He looked at her worriedly, not understanding why they survivors wouldn't follow her.

"They're Jedi. Mostly" Bao-Dur's voice sounded, "Protectors of the Galaxy. Who else can we trust, if not them?" Revan smirked at his words, even if he had qualified that they weren't whole Jedi yet. It never seized to amaze her how much respect that simply titled garnered. A general rustling went through the crowd as they looked at one another, uncertainty still hanging visibly in the air.

"Look, I'm not asking any of you to fight the Mandalorians or rush into battle. I only want to hide you in a different location, one the enemy will not immediately think of once they start attacking."

The female who had spoken before stepped forward, nodding at Revan as she replaced the older male as the voice of the group. "We will do as you say, Jedi."

She could have sighed in sheer relief, but managed to contain her gratitude to a short nod. "Excellent. I want you to hide in the remains of the settlement. The Mandalorians believe they already destroyed the area, there will be no reason for them to even go near it." She paused, considering for a second. "I will need one volunteer to stay behind. We need parts to repair our ship so we can escape. We cannot hold the Mandalorians off forever, we need to find the parts and repair the ship to move you all off world before they overwhelm us." A young male stepped forward, volunteering to lead them to what remained of their ships.

The ground shuddered once more, drawing everyone's attention to the skies as the battle seemed to begin in earnest. Blasters fired both from the ground and the sky as the ships fired at each other. One vessel turned, starting to head towards the area where they stood before being suddenly cut off as the Jedi vessel took to the air once more, waving between the enemy ships in a desperate distraction from the world below.

Concern swept through the rest of the crowd, but the female Zabrak only nodded. Turning to her fellow colonists, she called for them to follow her lead and began the march to the ruins in the distance. Revan nodded in approval as they made their way, turning to Avri as soon as they were out of sight.

"Avri, I need you to go with Bao-Dur and our friend here to retrieve the parts. Call for Ga'el if you need help while searching for them or to bringing them back to the ship, she'll tell you what to do." She handed him her longer saber, smiling at his shocked expression as she took his long vibroblade in trade. "You may need that. Make sure not to get into any trouble, I'll be very upset if something happens to it."

Avri grasped her saber in near reverence, activating it to swing it experimentally before turning back to look down at her.

"What about you two? Aren't you coming?" He asked worriedly.

"And miss the springing of the trap?" She scoffed with a small forced grin, "Not on your life. Malak and I will stay here, defending the bunker with Vrook, just like Kavar told us." Revan stepped away from the males, moving to reseal the bunker doors as she spoke.

"But there's no one in there…" Avri wondered slowly.

"No one else knows that." She remained him, and the male grinned.

"Good luck."

"You too."

Revan allowed the false smile to slip away as Avri and the two Zabrak passed over a hill and faded from sight, her look grim as she turned back to Malak. The male had already kneeled into a meditative pose as she approached him once more, brining a humorless smile to her face.

"I suppose that is really the only course of action available while we wait for them." She murmured, coming to kneel beside him. He reached out a hand as she closed her eyes, placing it on her knee closest to him. She placed her own on top of it, wrapping her fingers around his much larger hand as they both slipped into communion with the Force, the screeching of blaster fire and roar of ships echoing in the background while they awaited their own part in the battle.


End file.
